


Desires

by Kitty_KatAllie



Series: What's It Like [10]
Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: (slight) Orgasm Delay, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Barebacking, Bottom from the Top!Sena, Bottom!Shin, Boys do the Do, Bromance, Clothing Kink a bit just a bit, Coming Untouched, Dirty Talk (a bit?), Doggy Style, F/F, F/M, Frottage, Intercrural Sex, Kink Negotiation, M/M, Masturbation with an Audience (lol), Oral Sex, Praise Kink, Rimming, Shower Sex, Top!Sena, Wall Sex, Warning: Insecurity talk, at long fucking last amirite?, cuz hella fucking yeah, hmm didn't even realize that until now, schmoop & sex, some bad boyfriending, voyuerism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 12:53:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 63,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7758595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty_KatAllie/pseuds/Kitty_KatAllie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait.” Emily placed her fingers to her temples and a scowl began to form, forehead scrunching. “Lemme get this straight. The boyfriend who you've wanted to bang for, like, three years-” Sena squeaked and facepalmed. “-who may or may not be asexual, who you still haven’t talked to about sex at all, you invited. To sleep with you. Overnight. In your new apartment where you have your own room. In your single, one-person-sized bed?”</p><p>“Yes…?”</p><p>(The choice that finally starts off our boys' adventures into the wild world of rated NC-17. And all subsequent adventures thereof.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sleepovers

**Author's Note:**

> Do they attend any parties together? Do they enjoy a good round of truth or dare? How is the mood set? Who is the big spoon? 
> 
> All explicit chapters will be in this part of the series. 
> 
> Just FYI: I haven't done outright smut in a long time. And it shows. As in, I had to do a lot of set up to "get the mood" and the actual smut was super long and exposition-y. (Plus, I had to establish the setting...) But... there are some actual good, hot moments in there somewhere. The next smutty chapter will definitely have less of a set up. And hopefully be a bit more doing the do, fast and fun style. Anyway, hope you enjoy this "masterful" hot mess.

“Are we sure we’re gonna do this?” Riku asked, arms crossed and face serious. He looked enough like Shin in that moment that Sena had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

“Yeah, this is a MAX great idea!” Monta exclaimed, throwing his arms around Sena and Riku’s necks and grinning. He squinted and pursed his lips at Riku. “You have a problem all of a sudden?”

Riku sighed roughly and rolled his eyes.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sena interrupted firmly. “We’re gonna have a great second year at Enma and this is the beginning.”

Riku and Monta grinned over at him. With a bit of shuffling on Monta’s part, the three young men held out their fists to bump.

“Well, then, if we’re going to do it, let’s go. Before they look out and see us standing around like dumbasses,” Riku said even as he began to stride away. Monta and Sena hurried after him, Monta grumbling under his breath.

Together they entered the office. Several people looked up from their computers or paperwork, and one detached from her cubicle. She was an older woman, maybe in her forties, with a bright red tie and subdued grey skirt-suit, but she smiled genuinely when she saw them. She took the time to greet them by their last names and even shake their hands.

“Thanks, it’s good to see you, too, Yoshida-san,” Sena greeted politely.

“So, you three have given it enough thought, I hope?” Yoshida-san prompted pleasantly as she led them into the small meeting office.

They all glanced at each other again and then turned back to nod. “Yeah.”

“We’re gonna take it,” Riku added at the end. Yoshida-san smiled widely.

“Excellent! Let’s get some tea and snacks and I’ll run off to get the paperwork for you.”

The boys chorused their thanks and eagerly dove into the snacks set out the moment Yoshida left the room. Shedding winter layers between gobbling down fruit and cookies, the Enma students continuously exchanged grins and awkward chuckles. None of them were older than 19, but they _felt_ very adult sitting in that room and sipping at tea. They were about to rent their very own apartment, in Riku’s name and Sena and Monta as co-signers, since Riku was the only one with any sort of credit (thanks to parents who encouraged independence and a part-time job he’d held for over a year). They had already wandered around too many Daiso shops, looking over spatulas and pans and bathroom mats, and comparing prices and arguing over hypothetical colors and designs for their would-be home. But now, it was going to be _real_. All three jerked up straight, Monta and Sena’s cheeks bulging around cookies and Riku hurriedly brushing away crumbs from his mouth, as Yoshida-san returned with a folder held carefully in her hands.

“Are you bo- _men_ ready?” Yoshida asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah,” Riku answered for them while the other two choked down their mouthfuls.

Signing their signatures on the professionally typed up contract felt too easy and anticlimactic, despite Monta’s extravagant flourish on the last page.

Yoshida-san tapped the papers into perfect alignment and slid their copy into a manila folder. The office copy went back into the simple folder in her hands. She glanced over their edgy, almost disappointed faces and bit the inside of her cheek. The moment Riku slipped the contract into his backpack, she cleared her throat meaningfully. All three eyes- black, brown, and startling blue- snapped to attention in her direction.

“How about we go look at that apartment one more time. I have two copies of the keys with me right now. How about you give it a go and start picturing where everything is going to go?” Yoshida offered with a placid smile.

Excitement flooded out the disappointment.

“Y-yeah, that sounds good, right?” Sena asked, twisting to meet his teammates’, his _roommates’_ , eyes.

Monta and Riku grinned.

“Hell yeah,” they chorused.

 

The key clicked in the lock and Sena pushed the front door open. Inside, the walls were blindingly white and bare, the floors gleaming, and windows cracked to let in the brisk January breeze. They huddled in the middle of the living/dining/kitchen room area with their mouths hanging open. It seemed so much bigger this time, as they pictured the few pieces of furniture they actually owned and imagined themselves _there_ , living and doing homework and shouting across the spaces at each other.

“Now, you have a month before your contract begins, so start packing and making lists of what you may need. And don’t forget, there’s only two rooms and three of you. You should probably decide as soon as possible the living arrangements. The day-of is going to be quite stressful enough,” Yoshida advised as she bustled around the apartment, pushing windows further open and turning on lights. “There, I’ll step outside to give you boys a moment. If you’d like, we can make copies of the key ourselves and you’ll be given the receipt to be paid upon arrival. If you want custom ones, you’ll have to do that yourself.”

“Uh, I- I don’t m-mind a regular one?” Sena muttered. Monta and Riku shrugged carelessly as well. “Yeah, we’ll do the first thing?”

“Sounds good. I’ll be outside,” she reminded them with a wink. Her heels clacked on the stone walkway outside, the door swinging slightly ajar.

The three almost sophomores gaped around the apartment, slowly and needlessly tiptoeing through the rooms. They came to a halt in the smallest bedroom.

“She’s right,” Monta interrupted the silence abruptly. Riku raised an eyebrow as Sena ‘hmm’ed curiously from inside the tiny closet. “About choosing who rooms with who. We should decide _right now_.”

“Really? Now?” Sena squeaked almost throwing himself out of the closet with wide eyes.

“Yeah, Monta’s right. Let’s get it over with. I’m pretty sure we’ll all agree pretty easily,” Riku drawled, leaning back on his heels and crossing his arms. Monta exhaled loudly through his nose.

“If yer about t’say _you_ should have the single room, I’mma punch ya,” Monta warned, fist already shaking threateningly. Riku’s single eyebrow arched up, unimpressed.

“I can share! I don’t mind!” Sena hurried to offer, hands waving placatingly.

Riku scoffed and rolled his eyes. “No, you idiot, _you_ should have it.”

Sena blinked in surprise. Besides him, Monta frowned a moment, then his eyes widened.

“I hate t’say it, but Riku’s right. Sena, you’re the only one dating anybody. It makes sense for you to have it,” Monta agreed with a nod.

Riku and Sena stared at him until Monta winced and grimaced. “I didn’t tell ya, did I?”

“You… and _Suzuna_?” Sena gasped.

Riku’s arms dropped as sympathy shivered across his features. “I’m sorry, Monta. I didn’t realize that. I just thought Sena was _more likely_ to have Shin over since they live so far apart. I didn’t mean to-”

Monta held up a hand, eyes on the ground and brows contracted close over his nose. “Don’t. It’s weird when yer not bein’ a jerk to me.” Riku snorted involuntarily. “Me ‘n Suzuna _both_ decided to break up, okay? So don’t be all sentimental and crap with me. I care more about amefuto and gettin’ into the NFL and she’s wantin’ to focus on bein’ a nurse or whatever. So it just seemed smart to call it off now and still be friends. S’not like we ever said… the _l-word_ or nuthin’,” Monta explained quickly, rubbing the side of his nose. “It was just after finals and the Rice Bowl was comin’ up, so we didn’t say anythin’.”

Riku and Sena exchanged a quick glance.

“All right, Monta-kun. We’ll drop it. How about instead we buy the _konbini_ out of cheap sake and celebrate signing our lease?” Sena suggested with a slap to Monta’s shoulder.

“And if it just so happens we end up smashing empty bottles at 2 in the morning, well, we’ll blame it on the sake, right?” Riku added, clapping his other shoulder and grinning.

Monta grinned weakly. “Sounds good to me. ‘Specially the bottle breakin’ part. It… It feels good to finally _tell_ you guys.” He sighed in relief, shoulders slumping. “You should still get the room, Sena,” he remembered then, glancing up. Sena blinked in surprise.

“But, Monta-kun-”

“Nope! I don’t need no pity! It makes the most sense. Buy my alcohol tonight and call it even, deal?”

Sena huffed lightly and nodded. “All right. Thanks, both of you. We should… we should probably go before Yoshida-san catches a cold, though.”

“Right. Yeah, project CELEBRATE MAX!” Monta exclaimed, posing with index finger pointed in the air, grin wide and not quite meeting his eyes.

“I’m gonna drink both you lightweights under the table,” Riku muttered as he pushed them out ahead of him. Sena tossed him the key so he could lock the door and then hurried down the stairs to find the patiently waiting Yoshida and her car.

...

Shin stared at the rectangle of cardstock in his hands. Squinting, he read it again. In front of him, Sena shuffled in place, eyes lit up, biting down his excited grin, and unable to keep still. There was a small house with flower pots and a cat on the front, and on the back, written in fancy calligraphy, an invitation to a house warming party. _Sena’s_ housewarming party.

“Do you remember me telling you about when me and Monta-kun and Riku-kun went and saw a couple apartments before finals?” Sena asked eagerly. Shin felt a brow rise.

“I thought you said it was a joke?”

“Well, it kinda was, in the beginning, mostly because they kept arguing about who was gonna room with me. Riku-kun managed to talk Monta-kun around last year, but this time it looked like Monta-kun was gonna punch him. Apparently rooming with Taki-kun is _that_ bad, and Mizumachi-kun isn’t much better…” Sena rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. “At least for Riku-kun and Monta-kun. So I thought, you know, we’ll just look around for fun and then get them to agree that we all room with strangers or maybe them two together, but they _really liked_ the apartment idea.”

“It is a good idea in theory. I’m more surprised you didn’t tell me it when became serious,” Shin said slowly.

Shin wasn’t the type of person that needed to know every decision Sena, nor did he feel the need to weigh in his own opinion in all of Sena’s affairs. He also knew, logically, that he wouldn’t have wanted to get an apartment, especially not when their respective universities were so far apart. However… It didn’t stop him from feeling…

Excluded.

Frowning lightly at the irrational reaction, he tapped the card in his hand.

“Was the party their idea as well?”

“Yeah, definitely. If you don’t want to come you don’t have to. I know how you feel about alcohol and parties, but… I’d like you to be there this time,” Sena mumbled, shuffling his feet once more and dropping his eyes to the ground. “I wanted you to see my apartment. I have my own room and you could spend the night if you wanted! So you don’t have to worry about going all the way back to Oujou if it’s too late, and-”

“I’ll come,” Shin smoothly interjected. The absurd feeling of being disregarded was thankfully receding into nothing and his scowl lifted. “I would enjoy spending time with everyone. I am not _frightened_ of alcohol, Sena. I don’t mind if others are drinking while I am not,” he pointed out wryly. Sena snickered despite himself.

“Okay, great. I’m glad you’ll be there!”

“I would like to take you up on the offer to spend the night as well. It would be more logical to stay the night rather than try to return to OU.”

Sena grinned widely. “I’ll make sure to tell Riku-kun and Monta-kun. Let’s get to that bookstore now before it closes.”

Shin nodded once and followed Sena’s lead. Careful to keep his face neutral, he could feel several biological signs giving away the true turmoil underneath- slight temperature rise, constriction of his breath, tightening in his belly, growing clamminess of his palms. Despite his easy words and Sena’s obviously innocent offer, Shin knew exactly what he’d just agreed to. The last time they’d spent the night together, _in that infuriating sleeping bag_ , Shin had come face to face with passion he could _normally_ control or ignore. It had been so much harder to do so then, and now that he knew what it was like, he couldn’t tell if he dreaded or looked forward to it more. He should’ve said no. It wasn’t time yet. But…

Shin’s dark eyes glanced down to Sena’s happily smiling face and felt the tension building in his shoulders loosen.

But the idea of falling asleep next to Sena again, of more than a few snatched hours on the floor of his parents’ home, or on a rickety bunk right after their first, important quarrel, was too tempting to resist. It was funny, in a way, how he’d spent almost ten years resisting temptations and succeeding.

And yet it took less than one year and one singular young man to win over his strongest defenses. No temptation was quite as sweet as Sena Kobayakawa’s smile.

…

Sena slid into his chair in front of his computer a few weeks later. Most of his room was already packed up in boxes behind him, shadows and bits of missing paint from posters and tape on his bare wall, and one suitcase open with clothes spilling out lay at the end of his bed. In just another week, Sena would be moving into an apartment with his two best friends, with just enough time to throw a house-warming party before classes began again. Shin was already back in classes, as were most of the others. Enma was one of the only colleges in the area that started so late—almost a month after everyone else. While he was usually leaping for joy and getting ready for his upcoming move and classes, at this moment his stomach was tied up in knots and his heart was lodged in his throat.

Because in a week, Shin would be sleeping in his new bedroom with him. A full overnight sleepover. In his single, private room. The last time they were alone like this had been the night of the fireflies- a night that he couldn’t help but blush like a giddy moron about every time he thought of it.

Sena _wanted more_. More of that kind of kissing. More of Shin’s heavier body draped over his, his mouth on more of Sena’s bared skin, _Sena’s_ hands on _Shin’s_ bared skin. He wanted to kiss until they were dizzy, and he wanted to know what Shin looked like when he lost total control of himself. He wanted something passionate and wild and he _knew_ he felt it. He knew that Shin drove _him_ crazy in all the best ways—months of erotic dreams and embarrassing morning showers had taught him that—but he still had no idea if Shin felt the same way.

He could’ve talked to Monta, or Riku, or Mamori, or even Suzuna about this, it was true. They would do their best to help him.

But, well, he just _couldn’t_. None of them were in a situation quite like his, or even could understand everything he’d wanted to discuss. But he knew someone who could.

The bubbling ringing sound of Skype filled his room as he fidgeted in his chair, waiting for the other end to pick up.

“ **Okay, boyo, I’ll have you know it’s two bloody AM here,** ” drawled a thickened, throaty woman’s voice.

Sena blinked in shock. On his screen, the videofeed loaded to show his American friend, Emily. Her short brown hair was a rat’s nest around her pale, sleepy face. Blue eyes were hidden behind drooping eyelids and she yawned so wide he almost saw the back of her throat. A light lit behind her as her girlfriend, a gorgeous, tall, Black woman with a short-cropped ‘fro slid unto the screen.

“ **Ah, it’s your cute little gay Skywalker. You needed your Yoda, padawan?** ” Taneisha teased with a sleepy wink. Her giant Steven Universe tee slid over her shoulder and her nose ring glinted in the light of the computer screen.

“ **I still not understand that reference,** ” Sena complained good-naturedly. “ **I’m sorry I waked y’all. I can later call back?** ”

“ **No, no, stay. We actually were _just_ going to bed. We fell asleep watching Deadpool so it’s probably a good thing you Skyped us awake. It woulda sucked waking up in the morning.** ”

“ **I love that he still uses your Southern twang, baby,** ” Taneisha laughed, kissing Emily’s cheek. “ **I’ll go clean up the living room. Make it quick, Skywalker.** ” She blew a kiss at the screen, then stepped out of sight.

Emily smiled goofily after her girlfriend before looking back at Sena. “ **What’s up, kiddo?** ”

“ **We’re the same age, Em. Are y’all sure it okay? I can call in different time. It’s not many important,** ” Sena offered again sheepishly. Emily grinned and shook her head.

“ **It’s not a problem, really. I’m fine. I’m sure it’s important, kiddo. You never would’ve Skyped without double-checking the time otherwise. You’re much too considerate usually,** ” Emily pointed out, bracing her rounded chin on her fists and blinking her gaze into something more alert. “ **Tell your gay Yoda what’s shaking, bacon.** ”

“ **It’s about Seijuuro. Again,** ” Sena winced. Emily laughed her throaty, head-thrown-back way.

“ **Lemme guess, Sen. You still haven’t done the do** ,” she twisted her finger in the air and rolled her eyes.

“… **no…** ” Sena admitted as he tapped his desktop shamefully.

“ **And, the actual problem, you haven’t talked to him about it at all. So you still aren’t sure if he’s gay, straight, ace, or the next Jack Harkness.** ”

“ **The who?** ”

“ **Sena, don’t evade**.”

“ **No, I have not. Sometime I think… maybe he _is_ interest in _you know_ , but he never bring it up! He’s not _shy_ , Ems! Not like me. So I think he isn’t interest in _you know_** ,” Sena blurted out, words tumbling over themselves and basic English grammar he’d learned before totally forgotten. Emily sighed and smirked dryly at him.

“ **I told you last time, and I’ll tell you again: you’ll never know what he’s thinking unless you _ask_. Maybe he’s waiting on _you_ to make the first move. You did before you came out to America. For all you know, he could actually be shy about this sex stuff. Especially if he ends up ace. A lot of testimonies from peeps who identify as ace say it took them years to realize that they were normal and not… not ‘broken’ or shit like that. He could just not be wanting to bring up because he doesn’t want to disappoint you** ,” Emily replied, speaking slowly and clearly the same things she’d told him a half dozen times before.

“ **I know! I know, I just… I might done something stupid, and I not know how to fix it before the time** ,” Sena struggled, hands waving in the air. Emily stared at him.

“ **Okay, give it up. What’d you do? Call him a robot again**?”

“ **No! Never again**!”

“ **Good, cuz that was especially low.** ”

“ **I… I invite him to sleep with me. In my new home.** ” Sena grimaced and cringed away from the screen.

“ **Wait**.” Emily placed her fingers to her temples and a scowl began to form, forehead scrunching. “ **Lemme get this straight. The boyfriend who you’ve wanted to bang for, like, three years** -” Sena squeaked and facepalmed. **“-who may or may not be asexual, who you still haven’t talked to about sex _at all_ , you invited. To sleep with you. Overnight. In your new apartment where you have your own room**. **In your single, one-person-sized bed**?”

“ **Yes** …?”

“ **Are you trying to blueball yourself to hell**!?” Emily shrieked before tipping backwards in her chair, arms wrapping around her wide torso tightly as she burst into guffaws. Sena sighed and slumped in his chair, blushing to his ears and pouting. Taneisha poked her head into sight.

“ **We’re gonna get a noise complaint again, baby. Pull yourself together and stop laughing at the poor boy** ,” Taneisha advised in a sleepy, singsong voice before disappearing again.

“ **S-Sorry, it’s just. You’re such an idiot sometimes, Skywalker. Look, there’s only one way to fix this and you know it** ,” Emily said while wiping at her eyes and rocking forward with a thud in her chair.

“ **Ems** ,” Sena started in a beseeching tone. Emily tsked unsympathetically.

“ **You gotta talk to him. He’s a blunt, straightforward sorta guy, right? Just ask him ‘you ace’? Or even better, ‘do you wanna get frisky’? Or just lie in the bed you made for yourself. Next to an extremely hot guy you wanna climb like a sexy tree. If you can’t talk about it with him, then you’re just stuck in this hellish limbo. And you know it.** ”

Emily’s gaze was piercingly and direct, not unlike Shin’s. Probably why he’d been so drawn to her the year before. Her no-nonsense, shameless, and blunt way of talking had been so reminiscent of Shin’s that it had been comforting rather than scary. Taneisha’s calm, cool way of keeping her girlfriend from going too far had also helped.

“ **I know you right. But it’s _hard_ , Ems. I not talk about sex with my _friends_. How can I with Seijuuro**?” Sena whined pathetically. Emily shrugged indifferently.

“ **You talk about it with me. You talked about it in the club. If you can trust the GSA, you can trust your boyfriend. Or at least you _should_** ,” she retorted with a finger jab at the screen. Sena gulped.

“ **Y’all talked about sex, I a lot listened** ,” Sena emphasized resignedly. Emily crowed and fistpumped.

“ **You didn’t even stutter this time. So proud of you, my young padawan** ,” she exclaimed, laughing. Sena blushed and looked away.

“ **And that’s it for now. We _do_ have jobs and school to get to later today** ,” Taneisha announced. She placed her hand on the back of Emily’s chair and leaned over her shoulder. “ **You go ‘pussy up’, Skywalker. Obviously ‘manning up’ ain’t working for you.** ” Emily cackled. “ **If you can’t talk about sex, then you aren’t ready to have it. If you really want to stick it to your man, you gotta say something. Now let me and Ems get some sleep**.”

Sena nodded, still blushing. “ **Okay, thanks you.** ”

“ **Good luck, kiddo.** ”

The video went black and Sena sighed heavily. Ems and Taneisha were totally right. Though, maybe he wouldn’t use the exact wording provided.

 

 

Moving in that day had been hard work. A lot of up and down stairs whenever something was too big for the elevator (or whenever the guys got into a pissing contest of who could do it faster, or with heavier boxes), a lot of re-arranging the furniture to Suzuna and Mamori’s exacting eyes (even though it wasn’t _their_ apartment), and then hurriedly unpacking enough to make the common area presentable for everyone coming by for the party (or staying for the party, apparently Riku’s plans of making moving day the same as party day was to make sure there were enough hands on deck to help). Most of the guests were ex-Deimon students and Seibu friends of Riku’s, and Enma students.

Their tiny apartment was crowded for hours, people coming in and out, enjoying the early spring night on the balcony or crowding around the living room table. While Monta and Riku melted into the crowd, laughing and chatting easily, Sena was probably in the midst of an ongoing heart attack. He zipped through guests to pick up trash, grabbing random would-be projectiles, catching cigarettes or cups before they fell off the side of the building, turning down music, or offering food or water to various people- some he didn’t even recognize and had no idea how they ended up there. Shin, for the most part, stayed in a corner with the other Knights (or ex-Knights) that had been invited (Takami and Sakuraba and Wakana, basically), though sometimes he’d talk with the Takekura crowd.

So maybe Sena was using his hosting panic attack to avoid Shin as much as possible.

Because maybe he still hadn’t… erm… “pussied up” as suggested.

Shin had shown up early to help move- which, really, not surprising- had helped Suzuna and Monta on an alcohol run, had even pitched in for the take-out food they’d ordered. In other words, had been the best boyfriend, and friend, ever the entire day. Sena had kissed him exactly once, on the cheek, when he’d first shown up and dropped off his overnight night bag, and then managed to never be alone with him again.

Because Sena Kobayakawa, ace runningback of Enma Flames, Eyeshield 21 and Notre Dame alumnus, college sophomore, co-renter of his own apartment, and nineteen years old… _was an idiot_.

He yelped as hands fell on his shoulders and the bottles and plastic cups in his hands clattered to the ground. Punch, soda, and various kinds of alcohol splattered over his slippers.

“Sena-kun, just _what_ are you doing?” Mamori exclaimed, hands dropping away to prop on her hips. Sena chuckled awkwardly.

“I don’t want us to get kicked out our first day here, that’s all,” Sena hedged nervously. Mamori huffed.

“You’ve been running around like a gopher all evening. All _day_ , even. Almost half the guests are gone, it’s past midnight, and you’re missing out on your own party. At least come wind down the night with us,” Mamori demanded, toes tapping and her nose wrinkled.

Sena balked and glanced at his wrist. Sure enough, the numbers 12:13 flashed there.

“I had no idea… really?” Sena breathed in amazement. Glancing up, he noticed that there really were less people, the group remaining mostly sitting comfortably on the couch and few chairs in the living room area, instead of being cramped together and basically being on each other’s laps like earlier in the night.

“Yes, really. I know you’re trying to be a good host, and you’re nervous because this is your first time hosting your own party, but you’re wearing yourself ragged. We’ve all missed you tonight. Come on,” Mamori told him a little more softly. Her hands wrapped around his arm and pulled him away from the mess of the kitchenette.

“W-Wait! The- I spilled, I should-”

“I’ll clean it. Just sit,” Riku ordered as Sena stumbled across the room in Mamori’s grasp. He grabbed Sena’s shoulder and shoved him down on the couch where Riku had just been sitting. And next to Shin.

“B-But-”

“Yeah, Sena, just hang out for a minute. You’re making me feel guilty for having fun,” Monta joked, elbowing Sena’s knee from where he sat on the ground just in front of the couch. Suzuna giggled.

“You’re making _everyone_ feel guilty for not helping. Here, have a drink and join in the shenanigans,” she teased, shoving a cup filled with punch in his hands.

He sighed gratefully and took a desperate gulp. Suzuna, as well as a handful of others, all raised their hands, expressions of horror on their faces. Too late. The alcohol burned as it went down and hapless Sena spluttered and choked, eyes watering and face red.

“I didn’t say _drink it all at once!_ ” Suzuna cried. The group burst into laughter- Hiruma’s cackles especially loud- while Shin reached over to rub Sena’s heaving back.

“Breath slowly, Sena,” he murmured under his breath.

“I-I’m t-trying. Wh-Why is the p-p-punch sp-spiked?!” Sena wheezed painfully.

“You think full grown adults drink unspiked fucking punch?” Hiruma drawled incredulously. Sena gesticulated wordlessly.

“YES!”

“Oh, Sena-kun, I thought you knew it was spiked. What were you doing when we mixed it?” Mamori sighed, handing over a napkin.

Sena winced and rubbed at his streaming face. “Probably double-counting the toilet rolls.”

“He was very worried about the toilet paper,” Shin remembered, eyebrows rising.

Sena waved his arm around the apartment. “What if there hadn’t been enough!? With all these people? It would’ve been terrible!”

“How about we _not_ talk about needing toilet paper?” Sakuraba requested awkwardly.

Sena blushed brightly and slumped back against the couch. His eyes darted up to Shin, a little surprised feeling the weight of Shin’s arm still around his shoulders. The taller of them just sat straight up and posture perfect, one hand on his knee, the other casually around Sena. The warmth blooming in his chest had nothing to do with the alcohol he’d accidentally almost drowned himself in. With a grateful, nearly-silent sigh, he slumped into Shin’s side.

“Your party fucking sucks if it’s already dead,” Hiruma piped up as he leaned back and crossed one leg over one knee. Mamori, who was sitting on the arm of the chair he sat in, slapped his shoulder.

“It was the agreement with the leasing office, asshat. We had to drop the noise and headcount by midnight,” Riku retorted. He came back from the kitchenette and dropped down to the ground by Kid across from the sofa.

“Normally the quiet curfew is at ten, so they were very lenient towards us,” Sena added quickly.

“Besides, we can’t play the best party games with a hundred people walking around,” Suzuna piped up, her antenna twitching and her eyes glittering mischievously.

Musashi and Kid looked a little weary, and the more timid of the bunch- a.k.a. Sena- looked _wary_ , but the rest all grinned.

“Which one are we starting with?” Mamori asked brightly.

“Oh, something called _Never Have I Ever_ …” Suzuna replied deviously.

Now, Mamori looked wary. “Oh, I thought you meant, like, shiritori or something…”

“No way! We’re college students now! Let’s do real party games,” Monta exclaimed. He and Suzuna high-fived.

“Like you virginal innocents ever did anything to make this interesting,” Hiruma tched. Suzuna blushed and huffed.

“Excuse you! It doesn’t have to be sexual! I’ll go first. Everyone, three fingers up!”

“Three? Not four or five?” Sakuraba whispered to Takami.

“Yes, three! It’s a _drinking_ game, Sakkuba-chan,” Suzuna retorted snottily. He laughed and shrugged.

“I do not know this game,” Shin whispered in Sena’s ear.

It took a whole lot more willpower than it should’ve for Sena not to shudder at that.

“It’s easy. Just put your finger down for anything you’ve done. When it’s your turn, you say something you _haven’t_ done. You’ll get it in no time.”

Shin grunted and narrowed his gaze on Suzuna.

The game went pretty much as could be predicted. Sena and Monta almost never put down their fingers. Hiruma and -surprisingly or not surprisingly?- Kid had to drink the most often. Only, they were probably the most veteran drinkers of the group. While Kid kept his turns fairly mild, Hiruma went out of his way to suggest the most embarrassing things, even if almost everyone couldn’t put their fingers down. Suzuna ended up turning it into some competition, uttering some truly creatively filthy things as she stared the Commander from Hell down, making him cackle and almost giving Mamori and Sena heart attacks. (Most of Shin’s suggestions ended up being of the amefuto variety, although he did have a few surprising ones that involved desserts and had Mamori dropping a finger every time.) When half the group was tipsy, and the tipsiest ones getting bored, the game somehow devolved into a convoluted game of Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever somehow combined.

Which was an insane and _dangerous_ combination between Suzuna and Hiruma.

“So I just pick a truth or a dare? I suppose… dare?” Shin was saying to Mizumachi as Sena struggled to take away the bottle of sake Suzuna had found somewhere.

“Oh, yeah! I dare you to strip!” Mizumachi brilliantly thought up- probably being inspired by his own (voluntary) state of undress. There were a few splutters around the room as Sena froze in place.

“Ooooh! Fun! Do it!” Suzuna cheered, successfully claiming her alcohol from Sena’s lifeless grip.

Shin merely shrugged and pulled his hoodie, and shirt, up, baring his stomach and most of his chest. Sena gurgled and flailed his way towards Shin. “No! D-Don’t- clothes stay on in my house!” he shrilled as he yanked the hoodie back down. Shin blinked at him in confusion just a few centimeters from Sena’s face.

“That sounds like it’ll make sex difficult,” Hiruma said casually as he stared down at his phone and popped a gum bubble.

Sena stammered wordlessly.

“The only one with the opportunity for that likes to cockblock himself anyway,” Riku muttered. Sena dropped his face in his palms while almost everyone in the room tried, and mostly failed, to control their snorts and snickers.

“You’re all the worst. I hate you.”

“I think I’m missing something,” Shin stated, eyebrows lowering into a scowl. “What’s a cockblock- Ah.” Understanding dawned when he said it aloud and Sena outright whined like a broken teakettle into his palms. “I prefer to change the topic of conversation now.”

“What, is Shin Seijuuro too shy to talk about something?” Juumonji laughed from where he lounged over a pillow, eyes closed and hands clasped over his belly.

“No, he’s right, let’s talk about something else! Anything else!” Sena shrilled.

“But what about my dare?” Mizumachi pouted, lips pursed exaggeratedly.

“I will choose truth instead,” Shin replied with another careless shrug.

“Ah, pooey. Uh,” Mizumachi scratched his ear with his pinky as he brainstormed. “Do you watch tentacle porn?”

Almost every jaw dropped and Mamori facepalmed in pain.

“No. I don’t want to know what that is,” Shin said firmly. Mizumachi grinned wide and unrepentant. He winced at Kakei’s slap to the back of his head.

The game moved on, much to Sena’s relief. Shin’s dare to Takami involved a feat of acrobatics and athleticism that literally _only_ Shin would ever do on a regular basis, but Takami gave it his best. And so it went, a few more people getting up to leave and a few others tottering between drunk and asleep. Shin was one of the few tottering towards more asleep. Sena caught himself smiling like a besotting idiot more than a few times as he watched Shin jerk himself upright a couple times, eyes blinking sluggishly.

Sena’s turn came around, some silly dare with a tongue twister and ice cubes. He turned to Shin and asked the usual prompt.

“Truth,” Shin replied easily.

“Are you **asexual**?”

Mamori, Riku, Hiruma, Suzuna, Takami, and Musashi stared at him in various expression of shock. Riku tched and slapped a hand over his face a second later while the remaining who didn’t understand frowned in confusion.

Sena, for his part, felt his warm buzzy-sleepy feeling disappear like a slap to the face. Shin squinted at him, bewilderment on his features, and all the blood in Sena’s body rushed to his head. It felt as though steam was surging out of his ears.

“Ah-uh-uh-” Sena stuttered.

“Wait, I don’t geddit, wassat?” Monta slurred sleepily.

“Things finally got interesting,” Hiruma muttered. Mamori dropped her hand from where she’d covered her mouth.

“We should probably go! It’s very late. Come on, let’s go,” she announced getting to her feet. Hiruma rolled his eyes, but Musashi was already grabbing their coats so the blonde got to his feet as well.

“I didn’t- you don’t-” Sena squeaked, hands flailing. “I’ll ask a different question.”

“I don’t understand the first question. Was that English?” Shin asked, puzzled.

“I definitely think we should go, too,” Takami said, helping a half-unconscious Wakana to her feet. Sakuraba scrambled up to prop her up between them.

“We’ll see you at school, Shin!” Sakuraba called over, waving and grinning awkwardly.

“Whassat?” Monta repeated dumbly. He grunted as Riku jerked him to his feet and Suzuna grabbed his coat. “Where we goin’?”

“You’re staying at my apartment tonight,” Kid told him, patting his back.

“Thanks, Kid. Hey, Sena, good luck!” Riku called over his shoulder, waving and winking. Monta waved with a dumb, sleepy smile.

“Wait! Don’t!”

He stared at the door, hands raising fruitlessly, as it closed behind the last stragglers. His own roommates and best friends _abandoning_ him. Though, maybe if Monta hadn’t been so drunk and sleepy at the same time, he might’ve stayed. Maybe.

“Sena.”

Sena flinched and slowly turned, grimacing and rubbing the back of his neck. Shin’s eyebrows raised, expression unimpressed.

“Everyone we know just left within sixty seconds. Just what did you just ask me?”

“A-Asexual,” Sena stammered. "I asked if you were asexual."

Shin stared, face blank.

“I’m s-sorry. I d-didn’t mean to ask like that! In front of everyone! That was- I can’t believe I did that!” Sena rushed to say, face heating. “Let’s drop it and we can go to- uh… go to sleep.”

Shin raised a hand, stopping Sena in place, and looked away. His scowl darkened and his nostrils flared. Fear and shame tugged at Sena. He never meant to put Shin on the spot like this. He had no idea why he’d done it. Sure, he’d been panicking all night, and the term ‘cockblock’ had just been thrown around, but still! They’d moved past it and Sena had to just _blurt it out_ like that! His eyes reeled in his head as his breath grew short and choppy. Shin was obviously furious at him and he had every right to it.

“Sena, calm down.”

“I-I’m c-calm,” Sena wheezed.

“I’m not mad. I’m… _confused_ , but I’m not angry. Please, calm down,” Shin said clearly and firmly.

Sena blinked, sucking in a deep breath in shock. “You’re n-not?”

“No. Sena, do you think I’m asexual?” Shin inquired slowly. His face was still carefully blank, but his mouth was still in a thin, tight line. Sena swallowed painfully.

“I don’t know? It was just a thought, when I was talking with Emily. I mean, sometimes I thought okay, yeah, he’s _definitely_ not, but then I never actually… um… noticed anything,” Sena gestured towards his lap. Shin's eyebrows jumped up high, and Sena blushed bright red, then flailed, “And you never… you never t-touched me like _that_ , you know? The closest we ever got was on M-Mount Fuji, and it n-never happened again. But it was also, you know, you never talked about it! And you’re not shy about stuff, ever, so maybe you just didn’t want to, you know?”

Shin dragged a hand over his face, glancing away and frowning.

“Seijuuro?”

“You’re younger than me,” Shin said abruptly. Sena’s spine straightened, face puzzled.

“By a year…?” the runningback agreed cautiously.

Shin huffed loudly and shook his head. “You’re _younger_ than me, Sena. It wasn’t… It wasn’t my place to initiate that intimacy.”

Sena felt his mouth drop open. “ _What._ ”

Shin closed his eyes, inhaled sharply through his nose, then turned his serious gaze to Sena.

“When I first informed my parents of our relationship, my father took me aside for a private conversation. He made the point that, on account of you being the younger of us, I needed to be careful about how I approached anything sexual in nature. If I brought up my own desires, I could unknowingly influence you into moving faster than you honestly wanted, in order to… ‘catch up’ with me,” Shin explained slowly, frowning over his choice of words, dredging up the conversation from memory.

Sena’s jaw dropped as his eyes widened. “So… this whole time…you wanted to-”

Shin quickly shook his head. “When I first spoke with my father, I had no inclination towards sex, neither for nor against it. It seemed premature at best. We had barely begun a romantic attachment and were struggling with how to make _that_ work. But then…” Shin’s teeth almost clacked he shut his mouth so quickly, eyes darting away _shiftily_. Sena blinked in surprise as Shin’s cheeks actually pinkened.

“M-Mount Fuji?” Sena whispered softly. Shin shook his head.

“Before that. After the freeze tag game,” Shin muttered.

Sena felt the blush spread from his forehead to his _toes_. “Th-that long?” he squeaked, somehow flattered and _aghast_. “I’d been freaking out over you maybe not ever wanting to have sex with me and how to bring it up and you wanted to since _our second date_. Or, third? Just a couple months after we started!?” he exclaimed, hands burying in his hair and pupils pinpricks. “I’m a _moron_. Emily is going to laugh until she pisses herself if I tell her. I’m never telling her.”

“Sena, wait,” Shin’s hand fell on Sena’s shoulder and he glanced up, mortified. “Sex is mostly a nonissue with me and it’s easy for me to control those urges. In fact, before… before _us_ , I rarely had those urges at all. It also doesn’t change the fact that I agreed with my father’s advice.”

Sena and Shin shared a long quiet moment of eye contact. Shin’s serious and earnest, Sena startled but darkening into determination.

“Why? Why didn’t you just _talk_ to me? I wouldn’t have agreed to anything I wasn’t ready for,” Sena argued. His mind flashed back to Mount Fuji, his initial fright and panic of sharing a sleeping bag and what it meant, and realizing he wasn’t ready for it, almost to let it happen anyway. Shin had stopped it- apparently on purpose, _that_ was mindblowing and ridiculously obvious in hindsight- so Sena had no idea if… if _he_ would have stopped it. If Shin hadn’t decided not to have sex with Sena until Sena asked for it first, if Shin had just kept going, would Sena have let it happen, despite his inner turmoil, because it felt good and he didn’t want to let Shin down?

He’d never know for sure, but he was _pretty sure_ he wouldn’t have liked his answer.

“Oh.”

Shin raised an eyebrow at Sena’s quiet epiphany. The shorter of the two shook his head briskly.

“It’s… It’s nothing,” Sena mumbled.

Shin stared at Sena’s profile a second longer, before speaking again. “I don’t think I could have pressured you into doing something you didn’t want, but my father’s advice made sense to me in another way. Sena, you’re very timid most of the time, but when you _want_ something, when you’re _ready_ , you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

Sena jerked up his head, eyes wide and heart thudding. Shin’s pride in him, his belief in Sena’s best qualities, shined from his gaze.

“When you were ready, you would tell me. If you couldn’t talk to me, then I assumed you weren’t ready yet. I had no idea you thought I might not be attracted to you in that manner.” His hand cupped Sena’s face, thumbs brushing over his curved cheekbones, gaze dark and intense, so much so Sena quivered under it, belly hot and breath catching. “I am very sexually attracted to you and there have been numerous moments where pulling away from you was the most difficult thing I’d ever done.”

Heat surging under his skin, Sena sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, biting just enough to feel the dart of pain. An unconscious way to prove this moment was real. Not some weird, exposition-y dream. Hesitantly, he raised his hands and set them on Shin’s thighs. His palms molded to the warm, hard curve of Shin’s muscle through the slacks he wore.

“I’m ready _now_ ,” Sena said softly. The light flare of Shin’s nostrils, the widening of his eyes as his pupils dilated, were his immediate response to Sena’s quiet declaration. But he still didn’t move. Maybe too shocked? Or maybe he didn’t know what to do next either, Sena realized. With a clicking gulp, Sena smoothed his hands higher up Shin’s thighs, trying not to show his amazement when he felt Shin shake under his palms. “I really want to- I really _don’t_ want to just sleep tonight,” Sena half-laughed, eyes dropping to Shin’s mouth.

“It’s… it’s almost 3 AM. We should sleep at some point,” Shin replied, his rasping, deepened voice giving him away.

This time, _Sena_ shook. At the sound of Shin’s voice and knowing that what it meant, having no doubt of what it meant. He pulled his hands away from Shin’s legs, trying not to show how much he hated to, to grasp Shin’s wrists. Baffled, Shin let Sena tug his hands away from his face and set them on his waist. Then, with a quavering smile, Sena placed his own hands on Shin’s shoulders and clambered awkwardly onto Shin’s lap. The sharp intake of breath gave Sena just enough confidence to raise his pupil-blown eyes to meet Shin’s.

“That’s okay. I’ve never d-done this b-before, s-so it’s p-probably not gonna last long,” Sena managed to joke, cheeks stained red and smile lopsided.

Shin stared in silent shock. Then his head ducked, forehead knocking into Sena’s lightly, arms wrapping completely around Sena’s narrow waist, as his shoulders began to shake. A quiet, rusty-sounding, choked-up chuckle escaped, making Sena’s eyes widen. Then, he too was laughing, arms linking around Shin’s neck and hands burying into his silky hair.

There was a _real_ laugh coming from Shin, deep and rumbling in his chest, and he _wanted_ Sena. It was probably one of the best moments of Sena’s nineteen years. On par with his first touchdown, with winning the Christmas Bowl, with playing the World Cup. Riding high on the same feeling of triumph, he ducked his head down and, nudging past Shin’s nose with his own, pressed their mouths together. He felt that laugh against his lips, tasted it on his tongue, and swallowed it down, feeling it like a warmth in his chest even as the actual sound died away. Shin’s embrace tightened, pulling them so close together all space between them disappeared. Sena groaned into Shin’s mouth, fingers tangling and twisting in his hair, as his groin pressed hard against Shin’s lower belly.

Warm, calloused hands slipped under his shirt, sliding up bare skin, fingertips tracing the dip of his spine. Sena pulled away just long enough to grab the back of his shirt and yank it off, tossing it somewhere, _anywhere_ not on him. For a burning moment, his gaze locked with Shin’s, taking in the flush on his skin, the shiny gloss to his lips, then one large hand cupped his face while the other smoothed back his back and pulled him closer.

Kissing Shin this time was no holds barred, wild and sloppy. As if neither could figured out what they wanted more, to kiss, to map each other’s mouths, to trace the shape of their lips, or to drag their dampened mouths over jawlines to pulse points, only to desperately collide again. With a groan that had Sena’s toes curling, Shin tipped Sena’s chin up and pressed both teeth and mouth to his throat. He didn’t pull away the moment Sena cried out, didn’t lighten the pressure when Sena squirmed and ground down, searching for friction. Instead, Shin moved his hand behind Sena’s head and worried that patch of skin between his teeth as his other hand cupped the curve of Sena’s butt.

“W-Wait,” Sena stammered even as his fingers dug into shoulder blades, anchoring him in place. Shin froze, hot breath panting over newly marked skin, causing Sena to shiver almost painfully. “N-No, this is g-great. B-But maybe w-we should m-move to the b-bedroom?” he suggested breathily.

“Hn,” Shin grunted. Then _rose_ , taking Sena with him. The runningback yelped with arms tightening around Shin’s shoulders and legs automatically wrapping around his waist.

“I c-could’ve walked!” Sena protested, laughing.

“I’ve got you,” Shin rumbled. Sena pressed his smiling mouth against Shin’s neck, slipping up to kiss wet and sucking just under his ear. He grinned, toothy and proud, when Shin stumbled.

“I know you do,” he whispered into Shin’s ear. For some reason, that caused another stumble, until Shin finally got to the room and kicked the door shut behind him.

…

He watched Sena fall to the bed, bouncing lightly, mouth still curved in a grin and eyes dark. His bare skin gleamed in the streetlamp light gleaming through the window, shadows sliding over the angles and curves of muscles as the smaller footballer rose onto his elbow. Hands shaking and skin feverish, Shin ripped his shirt off and tossed it to the ground. When he looked over again, Sena’s mouth was parted, gaze heavy on his skin as it slowly traveled up and down his chest. He shouldn’t feel _naked_ already, not when he’d been shirtless in public so many times before, but he _did_.

There was something different about Sena’s eyes this time, like he saw something _different_. His legs swung over the bed and his arms raised as Shin stepped closer. Instead of pulling him down, though, Sena halted further movement with both hands on Shin’s hips.

“C-Can I?” Sena asked, glancing up through lashes that didn’t look that long just an hour ago. But the look had Shin’s throat drying painfully. He had no idea what Sena was asking for, but he nodded silently. After breath’s hesitation, Sena bit his lip and began to unfasten Shin’s pants for him. His nose brushed the thin line of dark hair from belly button to below the waistline of his pants.

Shin’s hands clenched into fists, eyes widening, as a specific image entered his mind. Surely, Sena was only going to undress him. Sena doing _that_ , right _now_ , wasn’t possible. Was it? When he’d first seen it in his research months ago, Shin had merely shrugged and moved on. It seemed like a messy, complicated sexual act… in fact most of sex seemed pretty messy and complicated. However, putting his penis anywhere near anyone’s teeth seemed like a monumentally bad idea. Until right now, as Sena tugged his pants down and, with one fleeting glance upward, pressed his mouth to the front of Shin’s underwear. His fists convulsed and his skin felt too tight, but he didn’t pull away, too entranced watching Sena suck at the obscene bulge of his briefs. His blush covered his cheeks and ears and down his neck to his chest. His tongue flattened to the base of his erection and slid up, up, to rub almost too roughly at the tip, where more than just saliva dampened the dark grey fabric.

“S-Sena,” Shin almost begged, hands reaching out to grip those broad but slender shoulders, his body curling over him. Sena merely hummed and slipped his fingers past the elastic. Shin slammed his eyes shut when his cock popped free, cool air making him shudder and hiss.

“T-Tell me if I mess up,” Sena murmured quietly.

Before Shin could reply- deny Sena could _ever_ mess up, this was beyond any expectation- Sena ran his tongue up his cock, wetting it thoroughly and making Shin gasp wordlessly. Even that couldn’t compare to when Sena slid his mouth over him wholly, teeth just barely grazing, but the wet, hot slickness of Sena mouth soothing it. Shin had masturbated a small number of times throughout his teenage years, and more recently when his own force of will couldn’t abate the biological need. Nothing _nothing_ had prepared him for this. For feel of Sena’s tongue, the darting pressure on the tip, along the vein just under the head, the hesitance as he tried to suck without his teeth getting in the way, the quick pulling away when he tried to take too much that had Shin locking his knees to keep from thrusting forward back into his sinful mouth. It was driving him _crazy_ , and it had just barely started. Shin forced himself to straighten up enough to look down, eyes widening and hips stuttering forward at the sight that greeted him. Sena choked slightly, then frowned, hands sliding up Shin’s thighs until one hand wrapped around the base of his dick and the other spread through the thick thatch of leg hair. Sena pulled off with a pop, lips and chin spit-slick and eyes determined.

“Okay, try again now,” Sena told him, voice gone throaty and hoarse.

“T-try again?” Shin wheezed, fingers clenching on Sena’s shoulders. Sena nodded.

“Yeah, you can put your hands in my hair to help. Just not too fast,” Sena explained, looking a little concerned, but mostly resolute.

“You don’t have to-” Shin tried, feeling desperate, but Sena was already leaning forward, lips wrapping around him and glancing up expectantly. For the first time, Shin understood the need to swear. “ _Fuck_.”

Sena blinked, eyes widening in shock. Shin buried one hand in Sena’s hair and fed his length slowly into Sena’s mouth. His wide brown eyes shuttered closed.

And Shin couldn’t take his eyes off of him. The hollows of his cheeks, the shadow of his lashes, the bruised-red and shiny dampness of his lips. His brows had contracted, almost scowling in his focus, and his hand pumping over the few inches he couldn’t fit in his mouth. Shin wanted to tell Sena how good he looked, how amazing it felt, but his breath was jagged and stolen, mind numb and buzzing. His fingers twisted in Sena’s thick, wild hair and pushed him a little harder, so that Sena’s lip met his fist. The strangled moan and Sena’s hand pressing to his still clothed lap, had Shin shaking harder. He could feel that mostly-unfamiliar burning in his gut getting hotter and coiling tighter, as he did it again and again, eyes closing and snapping back open, both scared to miss anything and hating to. His knees were starting to buckle, and his legs hadn’t felt this weak since before middle school. He was stuttering out Sena’s name in warning as he felt his balls draw up, vision spotting. The damp heat of Sena’s mouth disappeared and the shock of it had him spilling over Sena’s still moving hand while a wet mouth pressed against the line of his hipbone. Shin shuddered and gasped through his release just before he began to fall.

With a strength so easily forgotten, Sena wrapped his arm around Shin’s waist and pulled him onto the bed. They sprawled, breathing heavily, legs still hanging off the bed.

Gradually, Shin opened his eyes, body still heaving in deep, sharp breaths. Sena lay mostly under him, face flushed and smiling slightly around his own gasping pants. Shin squinted and raised his hand, wiping clumsily at the mess on Sena’s chin with the heel of his palm. The blush brightened.

“W-Was it okay,” Sena questioned hoarsely.

Shin shook his head silently. “Better,” he managed to say. Sena grinned.

“I’ve been wanting to do that. It was harder than it looks,” Sena muttered, frowning. “And I couldn’t really _practice_. I thought about trying with a banana, but it seemed so stupid.”

Shin slapped his hand over Sena's raspy babblings. “Good. Very good.”

Sena’s eyes smiled at him over his hand, glittering with amusement. With a fond huff, Shin dropped his hand to trace down Sena’s jaw, to his throat, lingering with a gentle press over the dark mark he’d left there, and then down Sena’s bare chest. That was now a bit of a mess. Shin scrunched his nose and trailed his fingertips past it to the dip of his flat belly. Sena’s eyes fluttered and his body arched. Shin remembered Sena’s hand grinding down on his own lap and realized Sena was probably still aroused. Unfinished. Abruptly, he sat up, freezing momentarily at the disappointed whimper behind him, and kicked off his pants and underwear.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I should clean up,” Sena sighed softly, getting up onto his elbows.

“Lie down.”

 ...

Sena froze at the flatly-made order. Shin raised an eyebrow and glanced towards the pillow. He scuttled up towards the pillow, breathing heavily, pupils dilated again as Shin crawled over him. He was cat-like and graceful, completely unashamed of his nakedness. Blowing Shin had been a whole lot more exciting, if difficult, than he’d thought. If he’d had a little bit longer, maybe managed to undo his pants, Sena probably could’ve gotten off, too. Now, however, he was in a special kind of hell, with his cock strangled by denim, jizz sticking and drying to his chest, and his exceedingly hot boyfriend all but straddling him. His exceedingly hot boyfriend he’d just seen and _felt_ cum. Shin after an orgasm was somehow the most erotically adorable thing he’d ever seen, but _this_ Shin, with eyes dark and calculating and bare skin gleaming, was probably the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Would ever see.

Sena’s breath hitched when Shin yanked his pants open. Grabbing both jeans and boxers, he pulled them down in one, smooth movement that had Sena’s breath clicking in his throat. Then, slowly, painfully slowly, Shin’s hands wrapped around his ankles and slid up his legs, hair pulling the wrong way and making Sena shudder, eyes slamming shut. His hips arched off the bed when those hands smoothed over his hipbones, fingers brushing past where he was aching the worst. Hot breath fanned over his belly… followed by hands that hadn’t stopped. Sena twisted his hands in his bedsheets, groaning and bowing like a cat under Shin’s stroking hands. His eyes blinked open when something rough- a shirt?- wiped at his chest. He looked down to see Shin frowning and wiping him mostly clean, then lean down and press a kiss to his sternum. Only to slide over his skin and press his lips to Sena's pebbled nipple.

Sena slapped a hand to his forehead, fingers digging into his hair- a mimicry of Shin’s hands there earlier- and he gasped out loud. It wasn’t the most pleasurable thing, his neck and _his dick thank you very much_ , were much more sensitive. But Shin’s mouth on him, anywhere on him, and the gentle pulling of Shin’s teeth, was pretty friggin’ sexy. He tugged his own hair a little harder, teeth cutting into his bottom lip, as warm, large hands smoothed down his sides and dug into the curves of his butt. The sheet creaked alarmingly under his tight grip, not quite a ripping sound, and his hips jerked up desperately. Shin’s hands slammed his hips down and Sena whimpered in the back of his throat and he could feel precum splurt over his belly. The heat on his face traveled down his throat, pulse singing, as Shin finally left his now peaked and puffy nipples and instead licked over his pulse. Tilting his head to the side to bare more of his neck, Sena let Shin suck a matching mark on the opposite side of his throat while he squirmed under the cage of Shin’s arms.

“Please, now, please, please,” Sena finally caved, his hand lifting from the sheets to dig into the small of Shin’s back. Shin hummed and sucked harder. “ _Seijuuro_ ,” Sena whined. He used his hand on Shin’s back to pull him _down_. The sudden weight had Sena gasping, stars sparking behind his eyes. Shin's whoosh of breath had Sena laughing, then laughing harder as Shin grumbled against his neck.

“I was getting there,” Shin muttered, bracing himself on his elbows and looking down at Sena’s red-flushed face.

“I know, but I’m going _crazy_ ,” Sena argued, arms winding around Shin’s neck. “Please, _God_ , faster.”

Shin huffed sliding one hand down Sena’s chest. It was still a little sticky, but also slick with sweat. Fingertips smoothed too easily down the middle of Sena’s torso and his eyes glanced down, lip caught between his teeth. Finally Shin wrapped his hand around Sena’s dripping cock, so dark and flushed it looked purple in the circle of Shin's fingers. He cried out brokenly, arms tightening, as he thrust into that loose grip.

“Slow down, Sena,” Shin whispered, leaning to the side as he used precum to slick his hand. Sena closed his eyes and shook his head wildly, hips snapping up.

“N-No, no, no. Don’t slow,” Sena begged, pressing his flaming face into the crook of Shin’s neck and moaning gratefully. Again and again, his hips snapped up, Shin’s grip just a little too loose. He reached down to add his hand, but Shin caught it, threaded their fingers together and slammed it down to the mattress. Sena blinked up at him, but Shin was staring downwards.

He shifted and Sena felt something hard and silky smooth slide into place next to his cock, tightening Shin’s grip. With a wide-eyed glance down, Sena almost came seeing Shin was already hard again and frotting into his own grip with Sena. He stammered Shin’s name and dug his hand into his black hair. Shin looked up, pupils blown and mouth parted, and Sena smashed their mouths together. Their teeth clacked and they were too busy gasping for it to be real kissing, but their mouths were together, tongues darting out to taste the other, noses brushing, and bangs matted on their foreheads, while their hips thrust into the hot, slick grip of Shin’s hand. Someone was muttering ‘yeah’ over and over, and it took a minute to realize it was Sena himself. All control over his mouth was gone, too sunk into the feeling of Shin’s cock and hand rubbing and stroking along his erection. He was desperate for it to end, but the idea of it ending was the worst thing imaginable. He was shuddering and sobbing into Shin’s mouth, begging and praising all jumbled together.

“Let go, Sena. I want to see you,” Shin whispered against his cheek.

As if he’d just been waiting for permission, Sena arched, face turning to press against the pillow, as he finally _finally_ came. Shin's harsh, grunting breaths at his ear had him shuddering and he felt the hot wash of Shin's release splattering across his lower belly and hips. He was boneless, exhausted, exhilarated, a puddle of leftover ecstasy on his bed, uncaring of the filthy mess he probably was. Sluggishly, he opened his eyes to see Shin gazing down at him, features soft and open.

“Love you,” Sena mumbled.

As his eyes slid closed, he caught sight pf Shin's startling smile curving his lips.

Shin gathered him up- sweaty and sticky and gross though he was- and tucked him into the curve of his larger, broader body. He could feel the shuddering heaving of Shin’s chest at his back, the hairy firm curves of his thighs just under his butt. And the best part, his arm wrapped around his belly and pinning him close.

“You, too,” Shin mumbled against the back of his neck.

Sena fell asleep with a smile on his own face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably shoulda mentioned before, unless it's texting, anything bolded is in English. 
> 
> And no, Shin is not actually asexual. As mentioned before, he's somewhere between greysexual and demisexual. Sena is soooooooooo sooooo gay, though. hahahahahaha
> 
> Just a sidenote for anyone who loves Stiles Stilinski from Teen Wolf- I typed in 'Oral' in the tags and waited a second; 'Stiles Stilinski has an Oral Fixation' is a VERY popular tag apparently.... as is 'Castiel gives Oral Sex' which... LOL. I RPed BOTH THESE BASTARDS. WTF ME?


	2. Marks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even saying ‘I love you’ wasn’t this hard. He thought the most difficult hurdle, his uncommon face-blind condition, was behind them. But instead, this. This feeling that his impact on Sena’s life was transient, intangible, was proving just as hard to overcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who’s the most possessive?  Who gets jealous the easiest? Do they give each other nicknames? Thoughts on each other’s friends? 
> 
>  
> 
> **Bold text is English**

The monotone female voice echoed over the cacophony of _people_. People rushing to and fro, shouting after children or companions, the squeak and rattle of wheels, crying and screeching of sad or overjoyed emotions, the beeping of indoor trolleys. The large blue screen flashed and flickered as it refreshed in front of them. Sena’s eyes darted over it anxiously while Shin kept his eyes on Sena. He’d been excited for weeks waiting for this day, but now he was looking more and more worried by the second, completely baffling Shin.

“They sent texts just moments ago,” Shin looked expressively down at Sena’s hand as his phone chirped once more. “She hasn’t _stopped_ sending texts.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s been _so long_ since they got off the plane. What if they lost their luggage, or someone stole their passports, or they get mistaken for international fugitives, or-?” Sena babbled on and on, pupils shrinking and face blanching as he continued. Shin’s eyebrows jumped high with his incredulity, and Sena stuttered to a stop. With a broken laugh, Sena rubbed the back of his head. “It’s just been over a year since I’ve seen any of them. I keep thinking they couldn’t possibly be coming all the way _here_ ,” Sena admitted with a sheepish smile as his tense, knotted-up shoulders beginning to slump.

“Your imagination is rather impressive,” Shin noted, fondness filling him as Sena stammered and blushed more. Shin was smart, sure, but Sena was _creative_ , a daydreamer to Shin’s pragmatist. As much as it bewildered him, Shin couldn’t help but enjoy Sena’s wild flights of fancy.

Sena’s wrenched open his mouth, apparently belatedly finding some words to say in his own defense—who knows why when Shin hadn’t been negative about it—but he cut himself off with eyes widening over Shin’s shoulder.

“SENSEN!” screeched a voice over the crowd.

The slender brunette flinched and grimaced before a reluctantly delighted grin broke through. Shin mouthed the name ‘Sensen’ to himself as he turned.

“Ems,” Sena breathed, hand raising to wave towards the group that was being led by a maniacally grinning woman Shin’s age or older. She parted from the group to rush forward and Shin stepped to the side just in time for the collision of her much larger, heavier body into Sena’s slender, deceptively stronger one.

“ **My Skywalker**!” the woman who could only be Emily exclaimed, smooshing their cheeks together as she hugged him tightly.

Shin turned back to the group to see the only other female snatch the handle of the forgotten rolling-luggage without missing a beat or slowing down. Among the group of men with her, she was just as taller, if svelte and curvaceous to their broad and heavier frames. Her skin was the same dark ebony of Panther’s, with her thick hair in a short buzz. The woman got to Shin first, holding out her hand to shake as a pleasant smile curved her lush-lipped mouth. To the side, Emily was gushing at Sena in rapid-fire English while he struggled to keep up.

“My name in Taniesha Roberts. You can call me Tanny,” the woman greeted in hesitant, but perfectly pronounced Japanese. Her startling light brown eyes darted towards Watt.

“ **That was perfect** ,” the ex-quarterback assured her with a wink.

“It was,” Shin agreed, taking her hand in a firm grip. Her smile became relieved and bright rather than perfunctory. “My name is Shin, Seijuuro. Most call me Shin.”

When she returned his shake, he was pleased to note hers was steady and strong, even if uncalloused. Knowing his own… inability as well as he did, Shin made sure to note her physical attributes closely (as well as the young men behind her in turn). Emily was a few dozen kilograms overweight and pale like the typical depiction of an American, but Taneisha didn’t share her girlfriend’s generous figure, instead having a body that looked to be one of a routine gym-attendee, with heavily muscled thighs implicating rigorous previous training of some kind—perhaps track or soccer or a kind of dance?

“ **Of course we know who you are**!” Panther exclaimed, his vibrantly bright smile lighting up his face. Shin blinked as Panther enveloped him in an embrace, back-slapping as he pulled away. Somehow, Panther had grown even taller, and his customary braids replaced with a more close-shaven, squared-off look. His memorable headband, though, was again in place; that would help. “ **You haven’t changed at all, man. You’ve got the same serious face.** ” Panther twisted up his own cheerful features into a scowl to mimic Shin’s, but it didn’t last very long when he burst into laughter.

“As Panther-kun said, we’re not likely to mistake you for anyone else,” Watt joked mildly in flawless Japanese. Shin did a quiet double-take and glanced at him curiously. Not just his Japanese skill had changed, but unlike his Japanese, other things hadn’t quite improved. His muscles weren’t as developed as they’d once been, his hair shaggy and long, and his handshake, though firm, less calloused than a seasoned player should be. Lastly, a thin blond mustache shadowed Watt’s upper lip. The bespectacled American chuckled under his breath at Shin’s look and scratched his cheek. “I’ve been taking classes in university. It was very embarrassing to see how much I got wrong as a teenager.”

Shin shrugged. “You did well enough for someone self-taught. You improved immensely in that area.” His eyes lingered on Watt’s smaller muscles, making the blond laugh.

“I quit football when I entered college. I’m at MIT to get into the _real_ NASA, ironically,” Watt said with a shrug and grin.

“ **I’m real glad you can talk to the locals n’ all, buddy** ,” Homer said as he swept a large hand through his still lengthy wavy hair. It was actually a little bit longer, and _fortunately_ unlike Watt, he’d retained the same physique he’d had in high school—that is: bulging and well-developed. He hadn’t gained much in height, and his facial hair was shaped to encircle his mouth. He would be just as easy to recognize as Panther. “ **But now _I_ don’t know what’s goin’ on.**”

Watt huffed and shook his head. “ **I’ll translate if it’s important.** ”

“ **I understand a little** ,” Shin grunted uncomfortably. He never liked using a skill he wasn’t particularly good at, such as English. He’d spent many years abroad, but his German and Italian were much better than his English. “I speak it less well, but I can comprehend it for the most part,” he explained to Watt.

“I thought so. You understood enough a few years ago when we met.” The tall blond turned to explain to the confused but patiently waiting Americans as Emily finally released Sena from her chokehold and swaggered up.

“ **So, you’re the great and incredible Shin-san. Suze wasn’t jokin’ about the resting bitch face,** ” Emily mused, pressing a dimple into her cheek with a fingertip and grinning.

“ **Don’t be rude, Ems** ,” Taneisha admonished with an eyeroll.

Emily flapped a hand and pffted loudly. “ **I’m just teasin’. He’s isn’t some delicate little flower, Tanny. Besides, it’s a _great_ bitchface, like, numero uno great. I look like an adorkable munchkin at twenty-one. It’s all my extra fluff. Makes me look forever young.** ” She winked at Shin and Sena playfully. Sena groaned quietly and dropped his head into his hands, but Shin merely scowled at her in puzzlement.

“ **I don’t understand what bitchface means…** ”

“ **She’s talkin’ ‘bout your gameface, man! You should try leaving it on the field** ,” Panther interrupted with a loud laugh, arm winding around Shin’s neck in a loose half-Nelson. Shin narrowed his gaze on Panther’s brightly smiling face just a handful of inches above his own.

Shin wasn’t inept. He was familiar basic colloquialisms. Of the _Japanese_ vernacular. English was already rusty and difficult. It’s strange, profanity-ridden slang was never something he bothered to learn or research. “ **My understanding is still unclear. I should leave my face?** ” 

A mistake, obviously.

Fortunately, Homer came to the rescue. He stepped up, rubbing the back of his head and chortling. “ **All this English is prob’bly makin’ his head dizzy. Let’s get some grub and beer. We’re legal in Japan, so let’s have fun** ,” Homer suggested. His suggestion was met with raucous cheers (though Emily did note with a laugh she was already legal back home) and fistpumps.

“ **Sounds great!** ”

.

“Are you sure you don’t mind, Seijuuro?” Sena asked him again. If Shin were the hyperbolic type, he’d place this time at about the thousandth or so.

He placed the bookmark among the picturesque lines of _Oku no Hosomichi_ , closed it gently, and set it on his nightstand. When he’d learned the group of Americans were coming all the way to Japan on very limited budgets, Shin and his parents had opened their expansive home to the tourists. They were currently scattered around the mansion, either strolling through the galleries and ballrooms—Emily said something about recreating a beautiful beast movie?- or checking out the grounds outside. Panther had been pretty wild over the sight of his father’s pet peacocks waddling ostentatiously through the hedges. (His father had a strange sense of humor when it came to spending his vast amount of wealth.) Sena, however, had taken the time to sit alone with Shin in his bedroom, fidgeting uneasily and looking downright guilty.

“Sena, do I enjoy amusement parks?”

“…no…” the smaller man mumbled, tracing circles on the comforter.

“Do you think I understand that you need time with your friends whom you haven’t seen in over a year on account of them living across an ocean?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m not exactly in your _head_ , but I get it that I’m supposed to say yes-”

“I enjoy spending time with you, Sena. But I do not _always_ have to spend time with you. Emily and Tanny bought you that ticket to Dizzyland as a gift. I do not want to intrude on something obviously meant for you three,” Shin assured him, hand reaching up to brush over Sena’s frowning mouth. Brown eyes darted up as the frown slowly curved into a smile, an expression much more suited to him. “The others already agreed to spend the day visiting the other footballers and OU campus and I’ll be acting as their guide. I’ll be more than occupied.”

“Okay, good. I’ll spend you a bunch of pictures, too. Promise. And… uh… It’s _Disney_ land,” Sena said hesitantly. Shin merely stared back, nonplussed.

“Yes, that’s what I said?”

Sena chuckled and leaned forward on his hands. He pressed a fleeting kiss to Shin’s cheek, surprising a tiny smile out of Shin. “Thank you for being you.”

“You’ve said that,” Shin murmured, sliding his hand around the back of Sena’s head to drag him closer.

“I still mean it.”

In a moment, they’d have to herd together their guests for the welcome dinner Shin’s mother had planned. But that was in a moment. He’d have a whole day without Sena even though they had planned to spend the whole summer together before Sena’s American friends had Skyped with new plans.

They could wait an extra minute. Or five.

.

When Panther, Homer, and Watt learned that Shin still went up Mt. Fuji every summer for training, they had eagerly decided to spend an overnight trip up the mountain with him. Emily and Taneisha both agreed to join in as well.

Shin was more than amendable to the idea. He _enjoyed_ the other men’s company, and the two woman were… _growing_ on him. Taneisha was smart, polite, and eager to experience as much of Japan as possible during their little more than two week stay. Emily wasn’t much different, but Shin had the distinct impression that Emily was constantly appraising his interactions with Sena with a very shrewd eye… causing Shin to feel constantly vigilant in response. He felt like he was in a test without having studied extensively beforehand, but he had no idea how to explain it to Sena.

Especially without sounding condemning of someone clearly very important to Sena. Someone who did something for Sena that _Shin_ attempted every single day— build up his confidence and self-esteem by making Sena’s opinions and friendship feel valuable.

Because of this persistent awkwardness around her, Shin discreetly began to make simple, logical excuses to give Sena more time alone with the Americans. The Tokyo Disney trip was easy and _honest_ enough. Shin had _zero_ interest in going to amusement park ever again. The three men, plus Shin, who hadn’t gone had instead gone on a more than pleasant trip to OU and then met up for an overly crowded dinner party planned out meticulously by Anezaki to welcome them back. After that, there were a few tourist-centric trips taken, whole days mapped out- literally on maps, with bullet points and timetables because Watt and Taneisha were that kind of organized- that Shin joined only occasionally, for a few hours here, half a day there.

Camping, however. Camping would be nice. He and Sena would be in their element, running side by side. They hadn’t been able to in over a week by now and Shin… Shin missed those moments of synchronism. Even Panther wasn’t quite the same. Too fast, too smooth, and too _loud_. He liked Panther, enjoyed pushing himself a little harder the few times they ran together—at Panther’s earnest insistence, nonetheless—but Panther just wasn’t _Sena_.

Perhaps Emily would see how they were together at their best and those strange, assessing gazes would end.

They gathered at the base of the mountain early of the morning planned. Joining them were Sakuraba, Monta, and Takami—which Shin was internally grateful for. He knew these people well, but even better, they knew _Shin_ well. They knew _Shin and Sena_ well. There was also enough of a social buffer that Sena was less likely to feel guilty if they ran ahead. Hopefully.

While packs were divvied up and the exact directions to their destination were discussed one last time, the two newest Americans took a moment to gaze up the side of the mountain through the morning haze. Awe and some incredulity shined from their eyes.

“ **It’s gorgeous and smells so _fresh_. It’s nice to get outside and go hiking every once in a while** ,” Taneisha declared, bracing her hands on her hips.

Emily snorted and then burst into laughter. “ **S-Sorry, it’s just. Me. Climbing a mountain. It’s fun in theory, but you know I’m gonna be dragging you down? No way I can keep up with you, bae.** ”

“ **You know how I feel about _bae_** ,” Taneisha replied dryly. “ **But I love you regardless. Of course I’ll keep pace with you, baby** ,” she promised, swooping through the short distance to kiss Emily’s happily flushing cheek. The shorter brunette preened and gave her girlfriend a besotted grin.

Shin stiffened at short, albeit affectionate, exchange, eyes darting towards Sena, knowing that any second- Shin barely restrained a sigh seeing the runningback biting his lip and glancing from Taneisha and Emily to Shin. Just as he’d thought-

“ **I… I shou-… I could stay back, too**?” he offered hesitantly, almost _reluctantly_ for someone usually so selfless.

“We can _all_ meet your pace,” Shin stated, turning to Sena for translation. 

“Seijuuro, no, this is training for you! And I know how much you enjoy running!” Sena protested wildly, hands gesticulating along. The Japanese in the crowd blinked over in their direction, confused by a conversation they hadn’t been following.

Shin shooked his head. “No, Sena, I run for fitness and because it’s integral to my position on the field. I enjoy improvement and the game. I only find the act of running _enjoyable_ with _you_.”

Sena blinked in surprise and his whole face bloomed bright red. Chuckles of the others around them, belatedly so on the account of the Americans waiting for Watt to whisper the translation to them, had Sena’s blush travelling all the way down to his collarbones.

“ **As friggin’ _adorable_ as this is, there’s no need. I know how much _you_ look forward to running with Susan. I’ll have more than enough fun takin’ my time with Tanny** ,” Emily interjected, looking amused and- for the fleeting moment she glanced Shin’s way- _approving_.

“Susan?” Shin repeated in confusion. While also trying to ignore the minute relief unclenching in his muscles at the American’s look.

“Also, Sena, there are more than enough people who will be taking a little slower and can keep your friends company. Or do you think we’re not entertaining enough?” Takami pointed out with a lopsided smirk.

Sena quickly shook his head. “N-No! Of course not, Takami-san! Thank you! Please take care of them.” He bowed hurriedly, causing a few more laughs.

“This is just painful _max_ , Sena. Start running before I kick you into it,” Monta complained good-naturedly as he stretched.

“Why did she call me Susan?” Shin repeated adamantly.

“ **What are we waiting for? Let’s go! I’m pumped to be running with the famous Eyeshield _and_ Shin!** ” Panther exclaimed, arms swinging and grin blinding.

“Yeah, yeah! Let’s do that, go on, Seijuuro!” Sena agreed, pushing Shin forward, his hands a pressing heat against Shin’s lower back.

“You’re avoiding my question.”

He began to run anyway, mouth twitching up as Sena fell into step beside him. Panther was just a pace or two ahead, grinning and waving over one shoulder at them. With a brilliant laugh, Sena darted forward, his signature explosive dash vaulting him over the distance. A familiar thrill raced down Shin's spine and the chase began again. Due to the unpredictable terrain and slowly thinning air, Panther actually ended up keeping pace with _them_ , dark skin flushing and eyes brighter than ever. Maybe in this one instance, Sena might be able to win. Or perhaps, _Shin_ might, seeing as he was even more familiar with this training than either of them. Sena never could beat Shin for outright endurance or stamina either, Death March notwithstanding.

They made it to the meet up hours later, panting and sweating, both Sena and Panther grinning and Shin more relaxed than he’d been in days. Both Sena and Shin had somehow come to a mutual unspoken agreement to avoid the viewing-point Shin had found, but the meadow they’d camped in was too nice a place to keep to themselves. Especially with the group they had coming with them.

A sharp, impressed whistle broke their huffing silence when Panther managed to get a good look around.

“Wow, great! Place much awesome look!” Panther rattled on in very, very _bad_ Japanese, mostly a string of adjectives with positive meanings and an utter lack of any syntax.

“ **Every year Seijuuro is come here. When the sun is go down, you will be like a lot**!” Sena told Panther eagerly and cheerfully while Shin busied himself with taking off his pack and setting everything out.

“We have some time before the rest arrive. You’re not too tired are you?” Shin asked as he cracked his neck and raised his arms over his head to stretch. When he dropped his arms, Sena’s eyes darted upwards and the flush from their run looked redder than before.

“W-What? Oh, yeah, no, I’d like to- I’ll ask Panther-” Sena stammered, eyes darting around wildly. Shin narrowed his gaze at Sena’s back while absently tugging his shirt back into place from where it’d rucked up. What was going through Sena’s head? “Let’s go! Panther said he found you in the woods all those years ago. He likes the idea of running around like… uh… Tarzan?” Shin shrugged at Sena’s bewilderment.

“No idea what that means. But I do know a good path to run.”

Sena chuckled. “Let’s go then. Lead the way. Today you’re the fastest, Seijuuro.”

A brief twitch of his mouth betrayed Shin’s amusement before he took off without warning. The yelps of the two young men behind him- both so _different_ but so _similar_ at once- had Shin picking up his pace just that much more. It wasn’t often he could best these two and maybe he enjoyed it a little too much.

When they finally rolled back into the campsite where they’d left their bags, the rest of the group had already set everything up and were building up a pile of branches and twigs to get a small bonfire going. There were only a handful of tents, most of them having agreed to share sleeping places. The idea of sleeping next to Sena again had Shin’s pulse picking up slightly. This _place_ couldn’t help but dredge of memories of _then_ , of last year and the first time Sena had been under Shin. While they’d both agreed that sexual intimacy wasn’t the first thing on their minds when alone together, and it was on _Shin’s_ mind even less, he couldn’t help but think of it now. At the most inopportune, inappropriate time, of course. Even though nothing like that could happen, the idea of falling asleep close to Sena was enough for Shin. It was still a rare occurrence for them and Shin was unashamed to admit he _really_ enjoyed falling asleep holding Sena close, and waking up to Sena’s grumpy or sleep-dumb moments.

Which was why, when Sena casually asked Monta if his friend had found his- _Sena’s_ \- sleeping bag and if it was in their tent- _his and Monta’s_ \- Shin felt gut-punched. He stared over at Sena’s obliviously smiling profile with a scowl reminiscent of his most intense exercises. Monta caught sight of him, and his face paled drastically, eyes wide and baffled. With a shake of his head, Shin got to his feet and went to hunt out another water bottle from the small cooler Sakuraba and Takami had carried between them.

It made sense. Objectively. Why cause an uncomfortable situation when it could be avoided? Sena must’ve thought it would be less embarrassing or maybe he just didn’t want Monta, the only other Enma student, to feel left out. Either option was reason enough.

So when did Shin stop feeling _objective_? And just when did he start becoming so greedy for time alone with Sena that giving up or sharing any of that time became… _aggravating_?

.

Shin knocked on Sena’s door a few days after the camping trip. He might’ve felt privately… _displeased_ by that night, but he’d been careful to keep it to himself. Now wasn’t the time to introspect such inconvenient, selfish motivations. Not when Sena was trying to entertain his friends and Shin was hoping to continue to building upon his relationships with them as well.

Sena’s friends were important to Sena, and therefore important to _Shin_.

Whatever problems Shin was having could wait until a time when Sena’s focus no longer needed to be on hosting said friends and assuring their good time.

So Shin might be spending an extra hour or two in the weight room, or pushing himself a little harder on Mt. Fuji when he took his run up there, but it was only improving his overall conditioning, so why not?

The door swung up to reveal… Kaitani. In a beat-up t-shirt a size too big and baggy sweatpants. His hair was a mess and his eyes were blinking sluggishly.

“’Chu doin’ here?” Kaitani muttered in bewilderment.

“Looking for Sena… and everyone else?” Shin replied slowly. “It’s ten a.m. on a weekday. Why are you asleep?”

“It’s called a _nap_ ,” Kaitani snapped irritably. “And Sena crashed at Mamori-nee’s place last night. So did _everyone_. I managed to get home because no way was I gonna share a futon with some giant ass American, but everyone went out clubbing last night, Shin. Of course no one’s up.”

Shin stared at Kaitani. Slowly, understanding dawned and the Enma player outright flinched in sympathy.

“You had no idea, did you?”

“Yesterday I went back to Mt. Fuji.”

“And you don’t have a phone and it was a last minute idea,” Kaitani filled in. Shin shrugged a shoulder at that.

He didn’t like the look on Kaitani’s face. The _pity_ lurking in his blue eyes.

“I’m sure you would’ve been invited if he could’ve gotten ahold of you- Fuck, what am I doing?” Kaitani muttered, dragging a hand through ivory hair. “C’min while I call up his stupid ass. I can’t believe him.”

“No, Kaitani, you’re right. I don’t have a phone anymore, and even if I did, no one could’ve contacted me while I was on Fuji. It wasn’t Sena’s fault.”

But…

 _But_.

“He still should’ve left you a message somehow. Or waited a day or something.”

“I don’t like clubbing.”

“Yeah, but you don’t like whatever just happened right now,” Kaitani pointed out dryly, hand waving towards Shin’s face.

Feeling left out.  _Excluded_. Shin didn't like that the feeling wasn't  _new_. 

“When… when you discussed getting an apartment,” Shin started slowly, awkwardly. It felt strange starting this line of questioning with _Kaitani_ , as if he were talking behind Sena’s back. He’d already began, and he couldn’t help but finish at Kaitani’s warily curious gaze. “Did he ever… want to invite me?”

That sounded… pathetic. That’s not how he wanted it to _sound_. He huffed and dragged his hand over his face and missed the fleeting pained look on Kaitani’s face. When he looked up, Kaitani’s expression was inscrutable. At least to a man like Shin, who found facial expressions and subtler emotions hard to read.

“No, Shin. It started as a joke, something not-quite serious, and me and Monta kinda snowballed it. You got brought up when we signed the contract and forced Sena to accept the big room _because_ of you and him.” Kaitani crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb, obviously fighting a yawn as his jaw stretched oddly and his eyes slipped half-shut. He blinked himself back to wakefulness, looking contrite.

“You should return to bed. I’m sorry to have woken you, Kaitani.”

“Riku.”

Shin stared.

“You’re dating my best friend,” something strange happened to Kaitani’s voice over the last two words, “the least you can do is call me Riku to my face.”

“You call me Shin.”

“Alright then. Seijuuro it is,” Riku said with a shrug. Shin frowned and Riku laughed. “The difference is _no one_ calls you Seijuuro except for Sena. Even Haruto normally calls you Shin.”

“It’s true.” He nodded once and then stepped back. “Don’t… don’t mention this to Sena. Not until…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. It’s between you guys. Don’t let it lie, though, Shin. _Seijuuro_. If it honestly hurts as much as it looked like it did, it’s important.”

Shin blinked once, slow and startled at the stern and wise advice by the fellow linebacker (and safety).

“Thank you.”

Riku shrugged again and didn’t bother hiding his jaw-cracking yawn. “Sometimes Sena needs a little help to see what’s right in front of him.” The fond smile on Riku’s face had the gears whirring in Shin’s mind, before the ivory-haired man saluted sassily and closed the door.

As Shin walked towards the elevator, he had a vague idea that there were more than just a _few things_ Sena was oblivious to.

.

Ever since the morning after the club incident, Shin tried a little harder to _be there_. He hadn’t found time to talk to Sena about it, though. He listened to the chatter around him, the joking about things he’d missed, the embarrassing anecdotes and teasings, and kept calm and quiet. Now wasn’t the right time. He would make more of an effort because it wasn’t only _Sena’s_ fault Shin hadn’t been available, and being _mildly_  (only _mildly_ ) upset about it wasn’t constructive. While also being a sign he wasn’t fine with it. At all.

Clubbing wasn’t his ‘thing’. Amusement parks weren’t his forte.

But Sena _was_.

It helped that during the moments when the group around him tangented off into reminiscings of things he wasn’t around for, Riku’s eyes would find his in the crowd with a wry, helpless little smirk on his face. A gesture of solidarity that went a long way to soothing his lingering… turmoil.

And _it_ happened.

He never could have expected it. Never could have prepared for it.

The way Taniesha, Emily, and Sena tumbled into the door of the Enma shorties’ apartment, laughing and wincing and holding various parts of their bodies stiffly. Even Riku and Monta looked bewildered when Sena yelped a second after knocking his right shoulder into the doorjamb.

“ **Be careful, Skywalker! You’ll make it bleed again**!” Emily warned anxiously, hands fluttering over his chest area. He laughed it off, rubbing the back of his head.

“ **It’s fine, fine, Ems! Just the bump,** ” Sena assured her.

“ **Are you sure? We brought everything we need to take care of it if we need to** ,” Taneisha offered, eyes on his chest as well.

“ **What the _fuck_ are you talking about**?” Riku growled in flawless English as he stalked off the couch. Shin was a step ahead, face thunderous.

“What’s happening!? Hey, come on, I don’t know any English, guys!” Monta exclaimed from the couch where he was half-lounging.

“Sena was _bleeding_ ,” Shin snapped, sounding angrier than usual in his concern.

“WHAT?! What happened?!” Monta shrieked.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, guys! It’s nothing! I mean it’s something, but nothing what you’re thinking!” Sena exclaimed hurriedly, waving his hands in front of him wildly, only to wince again.

“ **Stop that,** ” Emily sighed in exasperation, gently pulling his arms down to his side. “ **And _you two_ , you stop that, too! You’re just working him up**!” Emily scolded Riku and Shin.

“ **It’s just a tatt, boys**.” Taneisha said calmly. Sena grimaced slightly.

“ **I not want to say it like that** ,” he muttered.

“A. What.” Shin stated flatly, voice toneless. Riku on the other hand looked _livid_. Sena blanched.

“What’s happening?!”

“ _This moron_ got a _tattoo_ ,” Riku hissed.

Monta almost fell off the couch and scrambled to his feet. “He got a WHAT?”

“Hey! We all did, me, Ems, _and_ Tanny!” Sena protested.

“ **Hey, hey, _back the fuck up_. Sena is a gorramn adult. Are you _scolding him_**?” Emily demanded furiously. Taneisha put her hand on Emily’s shoulder to calm her down, but leveled her own glare at them.

“I wanna see!” Monta gasped, pushing past Riku and Shin. Sena glanced at the two fuming men behind Monta, but carefully yanked the neckline of his t-shirt down just far enough to expose the tattoo. It wasn’t anything huge or elaborate. It was the number 21 in Deimon colors, which, really, made sense.

“Oh, MAX _cool_ , dude!” Monta gasped. He frowned and punched Sena’s shoulder. “Why the _hell_ didn’t you tell us? I woulda gone, too!” Monta exclaimed with a grin.

Sena’s mouth twitched up. “It was a-”

“Last minute idea.”

Sena froze and glanced up to Shin’s blank face. He had no idea what his own expression was doing, but whatever it was, Sena looked somehow surprised and pained.

“Seijuuro?” his voice lilted upwards in question and concern.

“ **If you have a problem with Sena having bodily autonomy, you can fuck right off** ,” Emily grumbled, arms crossing over her ample chest. She winced when the action pulled on her right arm.

“ **Sena, what is going on**?” Taneisha asked, barely containing her own confused anger at the reactions.

“ **It’s not about that! This is a huge fucking decision and Sena just completely ignored the idea that _maybe_ his best friends and _his fucking boyfriend_ would’ve wanted to be a part of this! ** How can you be so fucking blind, Sena?!” Riku yelled, hands in fists at his side.

“Riku, don’t-”

Riku glanced towards Shin and huffed angrily. His arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the opposite wall. “Sorry, Seijuuro.”

“When did you start calling him Seijuuro?” Monta asked in surprise.

“Seijuuro, what’s he talking about?” Sena asked, glancing between in, clearly baffled and concern mounting.

“ **Okay, we’re missing something huge…** ” Emily muttered, righteous anger gradually deflating. Taneisha frowned pensively and nodded.

“This isn’t the time,” Shin frowned in Riku’s direction as the safety ‘tch’ed loudly. “ _It isn’t the time_. Your friends aren’t here much longer, Sena. It… It can wait.” He scowled as his eyes darted down to where he knew the tattoo lay.

“…” Sena actually swiveled his head side to side to stare at Riku and Shin. “No, Seijuuro. I don’t think it can. **Ems, Tanny, I talk to Seijuuro, okay**?”

“ **Uh, yeah, Sen. We’ll umm… go find the boys**?” Emily suggested, looking up at Taneisha.

“ **They’re at the Kongou’s. We can find it**.”

Riku stepped forward quickly. “ **No, I’m coming, too. I need to blow off steam anyway.** C’mon, Monta.”

“Wha? Me, too?!”

“This is unnecessary.”

“No, it’s really not,” Sena and Riku said at the same time as they looked at Shin. He almost reared back at their identically stern expressions.

 “This doesn’t make us square, Sena. I’m gonna give you _so much shit_ when I get back. Got it?” Riku threatened, rounding on Sena a second later. Sena blanched and stepped back.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, Rikku-kun.”

“Whatever. Monta, get your monkey butt in some shoes. Let’s go.”

“I’m _not a monkey_.”

“ **Ah, I understood that. He _does_ look like a monkey** ,” Taneisha’s eyes riveted to the half-eaten banana in Monta’s hand. Her lips rolled together to hold back a smile.

They trooped out the door a moment later, Monta still protesting. Sena glanced to Shin expectantly, and Shin sighed. How could he explain something to Sena that he could barely explain to himself? He appreciated Riku’s show of support, but he didn’t exactly like being shoehorned into a conversation he wasn’t ready for. With a drag of his hand over his face, he turned and made his way towards Sena’s room. Sena made a small noise of surprise and stumbled out of his shoes to follow.

He’d never even made it past the foyer, Shin realized with an exasperated eyeroll to the ceiling.

The door to the bedroom snapped closed, but the silence remained. Shin stood across the room, back to the door and hands hanging at his sides. Breath huffed quietly past his lips and he shifted his weight. The confused jumble of emotions were beating at his skull, tugging to be forced into words, but they were too important to say quickly. He had to take his time, formulate the right sequence so his meaning could not be misconstrued. He wasn’t angry. He was disappointed. But not… for the obvious and permanent reason.

“Seijuuro? I know that it was really sudden and probably really stupid, but I don’t regret it, you know? I really like it and I think it was a good idea. I mean, the whole needles and pain part, that wasn’t _good-_ ”

Shin turned, eyebrows coming together low over the bridge of his nose. Sena was leaning against the door, his weight mostly to one side, eyes on the floor, and his fingers fidgeting together.

“Sena, I don’t care about the tattoo,” Shin said quietly, firmly.

Sena’s chin jerked up to meet Shin’s serious gaze. “You seem like it…?”

“You’re an adult. Those are _your_ decisions to make and I don’t want to make them for you. I’d never ask for that,” Shin attempted hesitantly, his scowl darkening and his muscles tense and tight enough to hurt. He could feel his shoulders hitching up and his hands flexing minutely at his sides. “What Riku said… it was English, maybe you missed it…”

Sena blinked and cocked his head to dredge it back up. “The big decision. Made without you guys-”

“Made without me,” Shin corrected quietly, jaw firmed and lips thinning as he glared to the side.

“It was just a spur of the moment thing! Tanny and Ems both have tattoos already and wanted to get one to commemorate their trip here and I was there and I just got sorta- it just sorta _happened_.”

“Like moving into this apartment?”

Sena reared back, eyes wide and startled.

“Like sleeping in a different tent last week?”

"Wh-what? That was- I thought-”

“Or going out with everyone without me the other night?”

It was rolling out of Shin now, his shoulders hitched high and his hands in fists under his biceps, arms crossed so tightly it actively made his muscles _ache_.

“Seijuuro, I didn’t- you…” Nonsense tumbled out of Sena’s mouth in his cluelessness. As if he couldn’t put his suspicions in words. Shin scowled darkly. “You… you wanted me to _ask permission_?”

“ _What?_ No!” Shin bit out, frustration making his words harsher than intended. Sena gaped. Shin closed his eyes and inhaled sharply through his nose. “I don’t want to give _permission_ , Sena. I just want to be a _variable_ in your decision-making process. I don’t like feeling _unimportant_ to your life outside of our relationship.”

 “Wh-what?! Seijuuro, _no_ , that’s not what-”

“ _Don’t tell me how to feel, Sena_.”

Sena rocked back on his heels, face white. Shin breathed heavily through his nose and dropped his gaze to the floor. Slowly, Sena made his way across the room and set both his hands on Shin’s arms. Tension leaked from Shin’s body at the warm touch. “When you make important choices, Sena, I want… I want to be there. I want to feel as important to you as you are to me.”

The words were soft and… more vulnerable than Shin had ever sounded. Even saying ‘I love you’ wasn’t this hard. He thought the most difficult hurdle, his uncommon face-blind condition, was behind them. But instead, _this_. This feeling that his impact on Sena’s life was transient, intangible, was proving just as hard to overcome.

He hated the idea that ink staining Sena’s skin could last longer than Shin’s significance to someone he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

“Seijuuro, that’s not what all that was,” Sena interrupted Shin’s musing, voice soft and sad. “I’m so sorry I made you feel excluded. I was just trying… I was just trying not to _bother_ you,” Sena said sincerely.

Shin’s head jerked up, nostrils flaring and expression obviously incredulous. “Bother?” he repeated. Sena nodded and smiled a little self-consciously.

“I thought about you every time, I _promise_ I did. But I always brushed it aside. You’re so _practical_ , Seijuuro. And I thought, if I tried to contact you… for things you logically couldn’t be a part of, because your school is too far away, or because you don’t even like those kinds of clubs, or because you had better things to worry about then every stupid thing that crosses my mind, like how _difficult_ it would be to sleep next to you and remember the last time we shared a sleeping bag…" he trailed off with a self-deprecating twist of his mouth even as he blushed. "I thought you’d just consider those things unnecessary. I didn’t want to waste your time, Seijuuro,” Sena explained, fingers twisting into the fabric of Shin’s long-sleeves.

Shin dropped his arms, dislodging Sena’s hold. Before Sena could dart away, Shin cupped Sena’s face in both his hands and forced their eyes to meet.

“Nothing you tell me, nothing you do, is a waste of time to me,” Shin stated firmly.

Sena’s pupils dilated as he shook slightly beneath Shin’s hands. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” Their foreheads thumped together lightly and Sena’s eyes fluttered shut, breath fanning over Shin’s mouth. He closed the distance to brush his lips over Sena’s cheek, down his jaw. Sena automatically tilted his head back and a surge of something like triumph burned low in Shin’s belly. “I want to know the stupid things that cross your mind. I doubt they’re as stupid as you think they are.”

Sena laughed, his pulse jumping beneath Shin’s lips. “I can do that. I mean, it’ll be hard c-c-cuz- p-phone-” he broke off into stammers, pulse hammering as Shin placed a damp, open-mouthed kiss on the sensitive skin of his throat. His hands reached under Sena’s shirt, slowly, carefully, dragging calloused fingers up the line Sena’s abs. “S-Seijuu?”

His teeth pressed down harder as he sucked hard on the flesh against his tongue. A full body shiver preceded Sena melting into Shin’s hands. Hands that were smoothing up higher and higher, fingers spread and palms flat to skin. The crinkle of something like cellophane had Shin stilling.

“T-That’s t-the t-tattoo. I g-gotta- It’s f-fine, though. You don’t have to stop,” Sena said, voice husky and tongue swiping over his bitten-red bottom lip. His hands were clutching tight at the loose fabric of Shin’s shirt and shaking slightly.

“I won’t,” Shin replied, eyes on the reddening patch of skin on Sena’s neck.

An idea, fleeting at first but hooking into his brain and growing louder, had Shin pulling Sena’s shirt up. Being wary of the pain it might cause, Shin helped the smaller man pull the shirt off without him having to raise the arm closest to the tattoo too high. It was on the right side, but close to his sternum. The skin around the stark black and crimson red ink was aggravated and red. He had to push away the desire to press his lips there, to kiss away the pain it must be causing. Instead, he slowly walked Sena towards the bed even as his hands trailed down to Sena’s pants’.

“Uh… wh-what- I’m n-not c-complaining, but what are we d-doing?” Sena asked, face flushed and pupils blown.

“Leaving a mark,” Shin replied absently as he yanked at Sena’s jeans roughly to get the zipper undone. He had no idea why _his_ hands were shaking.

“A-A what?”

“Hopefully more than one.”

“Ah?” Sena broke off, confusion melting into something needy when Shin shoved his hands past the elastic waistband of Sena’s boxers to grip his bare hips.

Sena’s hands scrabbled uselessly at Shin’s shirt, clutching desperately when the taller man pressed his mouth over Sena’s heart, just past the plastic wrap and gauze-tape. The backs of runningback’s knees hit the side of the bed and they went down, the descent quickly controlled by Shin and his firm grasp on Sena’s smaller frame. His knee braced on the mattress, one foot still on the floor, and Sena caged between Shin’s arms and thighs. His lithe body arched sinuously, Shin’s mouth running dry at that sight even as he pushed Sena’s jeans and underwear off in one smooth movement. He was back to hovering over Sena within a breath’s time, mouth damp and hot on a peaked nipple before his teeth scraped over it. The small noise caught in the back of Sena’s throat had Shin tugging a little harder, tongue laving between the gentle nip of teeth and less than gentle suction until Sena was almost writhing on the sheets, the tips of his toes bracing on the floor to arch closer.

The slurring stutter of his name had Shin’s blood pounding just under his skin. But he was too preoccupied to really listen to whatever Sena was begging. It didn’t sound like protests, so Shin pressed one more damp kiss to Sena’s sternum and moved lower down. Another dark hickey bloomed just under his ribcage, and another on the smooth skin of his belly before he dipped the tip of his tongue in the dimple of Sena's belly button. The quiver had Shin biting just hard enough for the man beneath him to squawk and gasp. When Shin leaned back enough to survey the trail of marks down Sena’s abdomen, satisfaction had his mouth curling up.

Maybe they weren’t as permanent as the fancy inkjob, but it was just as much evidence, tangible and real, of _Shin_ on Sena’s body.

“Wh-Wh-Why are you still w-wearing clothes?” Sena demanded breathlessly.

Shin looked up to see the flushed, debauched face above him, the cherry red lips parted around pants and pupils blown so wide only the barest sliver of beautiful brown could be seen around the edges. Again, Shin cursed his condition knowing the moment he looked away, he’d forget the heart-stopping, pulse-jolting sight.

“Don’t worry about me,” Shin replied gruffly, pushing Sena further up the bed so he could get on his knees.

Sena’s breath caught and he jerked himself upright, balanced on his elbows. He winced as the action pulled at his chest, but he ignored it so he could stare, with wide hungry eyes at Shin between his thighs.

“S-Seijuuro?” he exhaled, voice wobbling.

Shin nosed at his hipbone. The smooth, unblemished expanse of skin beckoned and Shin obeyed the call. The moment he dragged the spare flesh between his teeth, Sena _keened_ , hips arching up. Shin smoothed his hands up Sena’s thighs, curls of hair tickling his palms, to spread him wider. The harsh, too shallow breaths whistled past Sena’s teeth, but Shin merely slid his mouth lower, pressing a damp, wide-mouthed kiss to the patch of smooth skin on Sena’s inner thigh. The sound that escaped Sena was a sob of Shin’s name immediately followed by pleading. Shin didn’t so much as touch Sena where he was so obviously desperate for him to. Instead, he went straight to the other thigh, two mirroring marks right where the inseam of Sena’s pants would rest. Every time he sat, or stood, or walked, or ran, any movement would drag along _there_ , where Shin’s mouth had left its claim. Where no one else would see or touch.

His grip tightened on Sena’s legs, thumbs digging almost too hard into the trembling muscle.

“Seijuuro _Seijuuro_ please _please_ ,” Sena breathed out in one rush of breath, one hand dragging through Shin’s hair, not hard enough to be tugging, too hesitant to be pulling.

Shin hummed against the groove of Sena’s hip, another gentle bite to make Sena whimper pleadingly.

“I c-can’t- I _gotta_ do something- Seijuuro, I really need you to-” Sena broke off, biting down on his lip as embarrassment held his tongue.

“Tell me what you want,” Shin almost... _ordered_ , thumbs pressing into the new, still sensitive marks on Sena’s inner thighs.

“ _S-Seijuuro_ ,” Sena managed to whine and beg at the same time.

“Or you can turn over and I’ll do the same thing to your back,” Shin said, belly and chest hot with the idea of it. Next to his cheek, Shin felt the jerk of Sena’s cock, precome sliding down the darkly-flushed skin as Sena let out a strangled moan.

“N-No, _nononono_ , please, just, I don’t c-care, just please do _something_ t-to m-my-” he broke off again, hand convulsing in Shin’s hair. Shin sat back on his heels, hands moving to Sena’s hips. He glanced up to meet Sena’s eyes, his patience a façade belied by the shaking of his hands and the quickness of his breaths.

“Pl-Please, c-could you…” Sena slammed his eyes closed and Shin wondered if the younger man was dizzy with the amount of blood rushing to his face. “Could you blow me?” he asked in a rush.

Only Sena could be _polite_ about that. And it somehow made it sexier than it should have been.

Shin turned his attention to Sena’s erection, frowning slightly. He’d been too much in shock, and no small amount of lust, the time Sena had done this. But Shin had a good idea of how to proceed. Slow was key. With the same sort of focus he gave his training, Shin ran his tongue over the head of Sena’s erection. The taste and texture of him coated the back of his throat, but it wasn’t unpleasant, especially not with the way Sena’s legs shook and his fingers spasmed in Shin’s hair. The first try of sliding his mouth over the length of him didn’t go smoothly, Shin’s lips too dry, but Sena still sobbed out loud, hips bucking up. Backing off, Shin tried spitting into his hand before running it up and down, loose and easy, remembering what Sena had liked the time before.

The eager thrust upward into the ring of Shin’s fingers, the way his breath caught when Shin ran his thumb over the head to gather more of the sticky-slick to spread, made it clear Sena would be more than happy getting off like this. But Shin was _not a quitter_.

His grip tightened around the base of Sena’s dick and the runningback whined, protesting and squirming under Shin’s hands.

“Shh,” Shin whispered into the curve of Sena’s belly, pressing one more kiss. Sena blinked and stared down with blurred eyes. Shin put his mouth over the smooth, tacky-damp head and slid his mouth down again, much smoother and easier this time.

The rush of air in a gentle sigh had Shin moving his mouth faster, up and down until the desperate need had returned to the sounds Sena made.

Shin was started to think maybe he liked the sound of that too much. But that sort of contemplation wasn’t for _now_. Sena’s hips stuttered upwards every time Shin pulled away, and he had to concentrate on doing this right. He let himself linger at the head, tongue flat against the silky skin, the taste heady and unfamiliar and fast becoming addictive because it came with sharp, choking cries. He wanted to take Sena deeper, swallow around him, and have the tang of his pre-cum ingrained on his tongue. Could he convince Sena to let him practice? For hours at a time keeping Sena's cock in his mouth and learning to take him deeper until he could ignore the gagging sensation he got now?

A sharp, painful yank at Shin’s hair had his concentration breaking and he glared up towards Sena’s half-lidded gaze. 

“I-I’m gonna- you gotta s-stop-”

Understanding dawned and he pulled off with a pop. As much as the idea of feeling Sena cum in his mouth intrigued him, he wasn’t sure how much he’d like that this time. He had a better idea.

Sena’s surprised gasp was muffled by Shin’s mouth a second later. His lips felt almost numb and his mouth slack, but his thrust his tongue into Sena’s mouth, wondering if Sena’s could taste himself in Shin’s mouth. Whether or not he did, he kissed back just as eagerly, whispers encouraging ‘ _yes’_ and ‘ _so close_ ’, branding Shin’s tongue and lips with his need as Shin’s hand finished him off.

Shin definitely couldn’t regret his choice the moment Sena’s hand stiffened against the back of Shin’s neck and the warm, wet splash of his release spilled over Shin’s fist. Because this way, Shin could lean just far enough away to see Sena’s slackened face, the unseeing brown eyes gazing up at him, and the marks still dark and scattered over his otherwise pale skin. As Sena breathed heavily, coming down from his high, Shin laid his forehead against Sena’s sweaty neck with a quiet groan, arms shaking, and struggled to calm down his own rapidly beating heart and too fast breaths.

“Uh, I c-can,” Sena started to say long minutes later, hands resting on Shin’s belt.

Shin grunted and shook his head. “Don’t.”

Sena froze.

“Don’t. Need to. Just. Don’t.”

He could almost _hear_ the confusion clicking in Sena’s brain.

“Huh?”

Shin swallowed, throat clicking and he desperately wanted water, but the idea of going to get it in his current state was _deplorable_.

“I got there already, Sena,” Shin deadpanned hoarsely into Sena’s salty-wet skin.

“… _oh_. Really?!”

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

“But I didn’t even-”

“You did. Trust me. I… I like this,” Shin muttered, thumb brushing over the almost purple hickey on Sena’s hipbone.

A slight pause. “ _Really_?”

“Doing the same to your back… I meant it. Soon.”

“…. I think… I think I’m really on board with that.”

"Think?"

"Know. I know."

Relief had Shin’s shoulders slumping. “Good.” Then, he managed to heave himself to his feet and tip Sena onto his back in the same motion. Sena yelped and let out a breathless laugh as Shin manhandled him up onto the pillows and crawled in after him.

“You get kinda _one-syllable-y_ when you… you _know_.”

“Yes.”

Sena laughed again, and wrapped his arms around Shin’s wide shoulders, ignoring the burn on his chest and the weird feeling of plastic pulling at tape. It felt weird and kinda… _erotic_ to be completely clothed and feel Sena's bare skin under his hands. Shin literally _snuggled_ closer, face tucked into the crook of Sena’s neck and arms tight around Sena’s bare waist. "So what happens if I get another tattoo? "

Shin grumbled in annoyance as Sena shook with his almost silent laughter. A long moment passed of just breathing in the scent of them, sweat and sex and the lingering shampoo on Sena's pillow while his fingers absently stroked from mark to mark, satisfaction curled in his stomach. Even though he was becoming quickly more uncomfortable in his clothes- specifically his pants- as time went on.

“Sena.”

“Yeah?” Sena mumbled, smoothing his fingers through Shin’s hair and pressing his cheek to the side of Shin’s head.

“Should I call you… baby? Or… bae?”

Sena blinked wildly, Shin could feel the flutter of lashes on his temple, and then he  _guffawed_ , his whole body shaking until tears came to his eyes.

“Taneisha and Emily do it,” Shin grumbled. He turned his head towards the pillow even as his ears heated.

“We _are not_ Tanny and Ems. And that’d be the weirdest thing _ever_. I like how you say my name anyway.”

“… Same.”

.

When the Americans finally left, Shin was regretful. A little. He liked them well enough, and Emily had finally stopped giving him  _judgmental_ looks. But the teasing at his expense- including the name  _Susan_ (why?!?) and dropping vampire jokes whenever the dark mark on Sena's neck peeked out from under his shirt collars- might not be much better...

However, he also had more than a month of sharing Sena only with his  _Japanese_ friends, which were high enough in number already. Going into his junior year was going to be even more difficult and he was hoping to get the most out of the remaining summer vacation. Before leaving, Emily had done him one more favor as an apology for being an overprotective dick (her words, not his). 

He had a whole list of websites to research. She'd gone out of her way to highlight something called  _marking_ and he had a pretty good idea where  _that_ was leading. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's not, like, jumping off the deep end into kink, but it's definitely heading there with the confession and agreement at the end. Shin's definitely gonna research the crap outta this, and of course, Sena's gonna go to friends to be like "is... is this a THING?" I really wanna expand on the marking and DEFINITELY with the dirty talking and orgasm delaying. Like, I really want them to talk about it and be like "well, we like *this* so let's try THAT" kinda thing. (Honestly, the total almost-Dom thing Shin's got going on is fucking not fair.) He also wasn't supposed to, um, *finish* this time at all, but then *that* happened and it just worked so I definitely want to get into a scene with my original intention. Okay, I need to stop babbling. 
> 
> ...if there's something in particular y'all want to see, I'd LOVE suggestions. Also, there's a short ficlet of what's going on with Riku on tumblr. I'll probably post it up soon, so look out for it if you want your heart broken, lol.
> 
> PS: Tanny is tawhn-nee, not tan-ee


	3. Sleeves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzuna rolled her eyes even as her mouth twitched into a fond, indulgent smile. Then, she leaned over and smacked his head. Ignoring his startled yelp, she went on, “As much as I enjoy your cute face when you think about him, I wanna know details. What are you two doing for your one year anniversary? I mean, you guys kinda did something to celebrate you telling him your feelings. Your first kissaversary, as it were,” Suzuna teased mischievously. “But the whole Rice Bowl got in the way. So you gotta tell me your plans for your actual anniversary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do they like when going out for food? Who pays for the food the most, when they go out?   Do they have any favorite food places?  Thoughts on wine? How is the mood set? 
> 
> Takes place BEFORE Marks. Just about a week after 'Sleepovers', FYI.

“One whole year, huh?” Suzuna said while idly flipping through that month’s issue of whatever magazine she read. Sena really only read the ones about football… or sometimes Shonen Jump.

“A whole year what?” Sena repeated in confusion as he pushed the bar over his head with a loud grunt. Suzuna raised her eyebrow over at him. He kept his focus on the weight bar, though, face flushing and a drop of sweat sliding down his temple, tickling his ear. He ignored it to finish his reps and drop the bar unto its rests with a loud, relieved sigh.

Suzuna clapped politely as Sena sat up, making him flush ever brighter and hide his face in his towel.

“Now, think about it again, Sensen. A whole year,” Suzuna told him pointedly.

He stared at her dumbly blinking, wrapping his short towel around his neck. “Uh… we’re starting up college again tomorrow, so a whole year of being college- OH! You mean me and Seijuuro!” Sena realized, eyes widened. His expression quickly went dopey with happiness. “A whole year, yeah.”

Suzuna rolled her eyes even as her mouth twitched into a fond, indulgent smile. Then, she leaned over and smacked his head. Ignoring his startled yelp, she went on, “As much as I enjoy your cute face when you think about him, _I wanna know details_. What are you two doing for your one year anniversary? I mean, you guys _kinda_ did something to celebrate you telling him your feelings. Your _first kiss_ aversary, as it were,” Suzuna teased mischievously. “But the whole Rice Bowl got in the way. So you gotta tell me your plans for your _actual_ anniversary.”

Sena couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. “Seijuuro’s mother made us promise her that we’d let her handle it. Seijuuro was a little… uh… _grumpy_ about it, but she said she really wanted to do something special for us and I didn’t wanna disappoint her,” Sena explained with a weak chuckle.

Suzuna’s eyes lit up.

“ _Seijuchan’s mother_ is planning you anniversary!? That’s so amazing! Oh, I bet it’ll be all fancy and ritzy! I hope you have nice enough clothes!” Suzuna enthused with eyes glittering.

Sena felt his easy confidence in the scheme suddenly crumble. Because _what if Suzuna was right_? Sena didn’t do well in fancy places or events. He’d worn a tux maybe twice in his whole life. And he didn’t actually _own one_. He’d only ever rented one (or had one shoved on him for a night with no idea where it had come from).

“Oh, don’t look so freaked, Sena. I’ll help you out!” Suzuna offered eagerly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She quickly backed away with a look of disgust. “I forgot how sweaty you were. Eugh!”

Sena snorted into laughter as Suzuna did some sort of shimmy-wiggle while grimacing melodramatically.

Though Suzuna had a list of places and a highly detailed plan for shopping all set up for the next day, it all ended up in vain. She had walked with him back home, dragging a reluctant Riku into the planning by asking for his opinions and suggestions since he _actually dressed well_ (her words of course) while Monta and Sena cowered close to one another. Monta was even devising an escape plan for the next day, when he caught sight of a vaguely familiar sleek, black, European car.

“Hey, is that the car that came and got you last year?” Monta asked, squinted at its plates uselessly, since he’d never known the plate number to begin with.

“Huh?” Sena gaped at it. It certainly _looked_ like it. As they approached, the drivers' door open and a tall, older man in a chauffeur hat stepped gracefully out. “Hoshino-san?” the runningback blurted in surprise.

“You remember me, Kobayakawa-kun?” the driver queried with a pleased smile as he bowed.

“Y-Yeah, of course,” Sena quickly bowed back. “Is everything all right? Is Seijuuro all right? The Shin-sans?!” he gasped in sudden concern. Hoshino quickly held up his gloved hands.

“All is well with the Shin family. I suppose I’m not _entirely_ certain about young Shin-san, on account of not seeing him in person since college began. However, I understand from his parents he’s doing exceedingly well.”

“Oh, oh _good_ ,” Sena exhaled in relief, hand to his chest.

“Well, if you aren’t here for bad news, what _are_ you here for?” Monta demanded.

“For Kobayakawa-kun’s measurements.”

The foursome blinked in shock. Then, Suzuna squealed high-pitched and excited as she clapped. “Oh! This is a make-over trope happening! I’m going to see a makeover trope in real life! Oh, how exciting! Are you going to take him someplace fancy for it?!”

Hoshino chuckled behind his fist and bowed to her. “In fact, I am. The lady of the house bid that I take young Kobayakawa to a clothing store she frequents regularly for her husband and son. He’ll be properly fitted there.”

“Wait, wait- _but why_?” Sena gaped.

“For your appointment in a few days' time.”

Sena’s jaw almost hit the ground. “This is for the date?”

“Indeed. A year anniversary is a special occasion and Shin-san wanted to make it memorable. She is very fond of you. And her son, of course,” Hoshino added on a little wryly.

“I- uh- I-” Sena stammered wildly and stared over at his friends. Riku sighed, but Suzuna hopped up and down with her hands clasped together. Monta just looked sympathetic, patting Sena’s shoulder in solidarity.

“Why don’t we all go?” Riku suggested, eyes heavenward.

“Oh yes! Yes, _please!_ Sena’s so shy, he needs us to come with him. Or he’ll stammer and tell you everything is fine, but it’s really not,” Suzuna told Hoshino with a despairing little shake of her head.

“I-I w-wouldn’t be that bad,” Sena protested under his breath.  

“I would be delighted to take you all. Shall we go, then?” Hoshino agreed easily, opening the back door with a slight gesture of his hand towards the interior.

“We shall!” Suzuna crowed, all but throwing herself inside.

“I’m only doing this cuz I love you, man,” Monta informed Sena, very seriously, before following Suzuna inside.

“I’m only doing this to keep Suzuna from taking complete control of everything,” Riku murmured with a little smile at Sena. The runningback heaved a giant breath, shoulders slumping.

“ _Thank you_. And thank you, too, Hoshino-san,” Sena said with another quick bow to the chauffeur. He nodded his head politely, smiling genuinely.

.

Sena fidgeted in his living room, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves or wiggling his hips to get used to the fitted, slick feeling of the much too costly slacks he wore. Not that he knew how much they _actually_ cost, since Hoshino had been given direct orders to keep Sena from being told. But they _felt_ expensive. Like they were made of spun fairy floss by the hands of magical sprites. He was scared to touch any of his clothes with his hands just two seconds after putting them on because his palms felt clammy and damp from nervous sweat.

“ _Stop fidgeting_ ,” Riku almost snarled from the couch.

“You look like you’re trying to do the Harlem Shake. Or twerk? Which one is it, Riku?” Monta asked, chuckling and elbowing at the elder, ivory-haired safety.

“Whatever it is, it needs to _stop_.”

“I don’t feel comfortable! I feel ridiculous! Honestly, your real honest opinion, guys! Do I look stupid?!” Sena begged, spinning on his heels to face them and throwing out his arms. His slacks were black and still creased from their ironing before they’d been delivered to Sena’s apartment that morning. His long-sleeved button-up was shiny, dark, crimson-red, much like his Deimon Devilbats uniform had been, though a shade or two darker. Over it he wore a fitted black vest or waistcoat or _whatever rich people called them_ , that had all three buttons done up and made his waist look trim and slender and his chest and shoulders look broader. And of course, a skinny black tie that was crookedly hanging from his perfectly-starched collar.

Monta snorted. “You look pretty cool, except for that mess of a tie.”

“I can’t do my own tie when my hands are shaking! Look! Look at this!” Sena yelped, waving his hands around. Which made _looking_ at them kinda impossible.

“I got it,” Riku grumbled, heaving off the couch. He stepped into Sena’s space and deftly re-did the tie, then, with a slight huff, undid the button of the waistcoat to left it hang open. “Pull the shirt outta your slacks.”

“Huh, wha?” Sena mumbled even as he did as Riku ordered. Riku stepped back, tapped his chin, then nodded.

“Looks good. The shirt isn’t so long that it looks slovenly.”

“ _Slovenly_? What are you, a grandmother?!” Monta barked with a laugh.

“Shut up, monkey,” Riku called back without even looking over his shoulder. He just as easily dodged the pillow thrown his way (Sena yelping as he did so). “Don’t put your hands in your pockets, you’ll ruin the lines. There’s a- yup, there it is,” Sena squeaked again when Riku stuck his hand inside the waistcoat to feel it up. “There’s an interior pocket there. You can put a wallet there, though I think just shoving in an ID and some emergency cash should be all right. You probably won’t need anything else since they’re sending that Hoshino guy and they’re picking up your tab for you.”

“You… for someone who doesn’t date a lot, you know a lot of stuff,” Sena said, blinking rapidly. Riku rolled his eyes.

“I _know stuff_ because I’m not a moron. Also, I might not be castle-owning wealthy, but my family is pretty well-to-do, too. I’ve worn clothes similar to this before at my mother’s parties. Where’s your wallet?”

“Uh, here?” Sena scrambled to yank it out of his back pocket. He was honestly worried if he didn’t do it fast enough, Riku would go looking for it himself. He _did_ snatch it out of Sena’s hands, flip it open, and take out a few items. He frowned and checked the few pockets and then gave Sena the most unimpressed face he’d ever seen. “What?!”

“Where’s your condom?”

The noise that came from Sena’s mouth probably broke the sound barrier and Monta fell off the couch he was laughing so hard. Riku shoved the small bundle of yenn and ID card in the inside pocket and snapped the wallet closed.

“It’s your one year anniversary and they’re setting you guys up at a fancy ass hotel for the night! You didn’t put a condom in here?!” Riku berated, bopping Sena on the head with his own wallet.

“B-But w-we d-don’t- it isn’t-! It’s only been the one time!” Sena sputtered and squawked as his face flamed.

Riku ran a hand through his hair. “Even if you don’t fuck like bunnies-” Monta all but howled from under the coffee table. “SHUT UP, MONKEY! Even if you aren’t fucking all the damn time, you always have an emergency condom in your wallet. It’s standard procedure of being a damn functioning adult. Unless you’re celibate or asexual. _Are you celibate or asexual_?”

“N-n-n-no?”

“Do you want to have sex again in the near future?”

“Y-y-y-y-y-y-yes?” Sena choked out. He flinched when Riku bopped him again.

“Then you always have a condom in your wallet. I will give you one of mine, _but you go buy your own_ , you hear me?”

“B-B-BUY?!”

“Oh my god.” Riku left the room, hands thrown in the air.

“He’s so cool. I fucking hate him,” Monta wheezed around chortles.

“B-B- _Buy_ them?” Sena squeaked uselessly. Monta sighed.

“If you want, we can go buy some together? Not that I _need_ them, but if it’ll make you feel better?” Monta offered longsufferingly, cheeks red. Sena nodded desperately. A second later, a condom smacked Sena right in the forehead. He yelped and juggled it in the air before catching it and flushing cherry-red.

“And you call yourself a footballer. Can’t even catch a condom to the face,” Riku taunted while throwing himself back down on the couch. “Shove it in the pocket I showed you.”

Gulping loudly, Sena did so. Then jumped a foot high when the doorbell rung. Riku and Monta both snorted.

“You do remember you’re _expecting_ someone, right?” Monta deadpanned, mouth twitching. Sena glared at them and moved towards the door. The condom was _burning_ against his ribs.

But he threw open the door with a bright smile. Only for his jaw to drop and all the breath in him to wheeze out. Sena might feel uncomfortable in these duds, but Shin looked _born_ to wear them. He looked just as good like _this_ as he did out on the field in his pads and tight pants. Or half-dressed, chest sweaty and dirty and hair stuck to his forehead. Or even naked and caveman-grunty on Sena’s bed. _How could Shin look so good all the time_? Sena thought in despair and appreciation, eyes darting from hair to toes.

Because Shin’s mother had chosen _very well_. He wore charcoal instead of black, like Sena, and sadly, no waistcoat, which would’ve looked _so good_ on Shin. But his shirt was a soft, velvety-looking mustard-yellow, shirt tucked but top button undone, barely glimpsing the white undershirt. Apparently his mother hadn’t told him not to put his hands in his pockets, though, because his hands were shoved in as deep as they could go and kinda looked like they were curled into fists.

Sena didn’t care about that. Nope. He was too busy staring with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. He’d never seen Shin in something so _colorful_. White and blue and black were basically his entire color scheme and this was blowing Sena’s mind. It didn’t help that the fabric looked so _touchable_. Like it’d feel velveteen smooth beneath questing fingertips.

“Your clothes fit well, Sena,” Shin grunted out, scowling.

Sena swallowed hard and met Shin’s eyes. Eyes that looked brighter somehow with the pretty shirt bringing out the lighter hints of amber in Shin’s normally dark brown irises. “Y-yeah? You… You, too. I mean, you look really good.”

Shin’s eyes tightened at the corner and his shoulders hunched. “You look very nice, too. Red looks good on you.”

“I… I’ve never seen you wear that color,” Sena hedged with an embarrassed head-duck to hide the grin at the compliment that was a little more _compliment-y_ than the first one.

Shin shrugged. “My mother.”

“Yeah, your mother, all this, too,” Sena admitted with a laugh and gesture towards his front.

“Okay, you both look good. Now get out. Don’t you have a reservation?” Monta yelled at them.

“They’d have remembered sooner or later,” Riku replied nonchalantly.

“Right! Uh, let’s- let’s go,” Sena agreed, grabbing Shin’s hand and squeezing out past him.

“Have a good night,” Shin politely told the two remaining roommates before being jerked out sight. The door closed with a snap.

The restaurant was just as fancy as the clothes. Complete with menus that didn’t have prices on them. And in a foreign language, helpful explanations written in furugana under the Italian. Or French. Or Hungarian. Who even knew? Sena’s eyes felt like they were spinning as he gaped around the restaurant. With its white tablecloths and fancy, muted-lighting chandeliers and tiny, scented candles, and polished to gleaming real _silver_ ware.

“The wait-staff is much more down to earth than the interior designing suggests,” Shin murmured, hand on Sena’s lower back as the hostess led them to their table. Sena gulped and nodded.

Shin held out the chair for Sena, making him crack a grin, and pushed him easily into place. With a quiet, stuttered thanks, Sena took the menus the smiling hostess held out (which he’d only glanced at while waiting for their table). Shin requested something sounding vaguely French at the hostess’s prompting and she hurried away after a bright smile and quick bow.

“What was that?”

“A wine my mother told me to get. Or was it champagne?” Shin scowled pensively. Sena gaped.

“Wha-? You didn’t have to- I’ve never had that before! You didn’t have to order that, I’d have been fine with tea or soda!” Sena protested in shock. Shin shrugged a shoulder.

“That was my mother, not me. I tend to take her advice for things like… this…” he trailed off as his eyes scanned the room around them.

Sena realized with a start that those scowls and the tension to Shin’s shoulders and arms… those were all because of _nerves_.

“Seijuuro, you could’ve told me this was weird for you, too,” Sena said, reaching over to place a hand over Shin’s. Shin stared at him, and Sena watched as the tension bled out of Shin’s face.

“This is my mother and father’s world. I live in it… but I don’t…”

“You don’t thrive in it. You just hold your breath and wait till you’re back on the field, or even with those kids at the community center, don’t you?” Sena finished with a tilt to his head and affectionate smile. Shin nodded briskly. He stiffened as a waiter showed up, a long napkin over one arm, a bottle cradled in his hands, and a bucket full of ice on a stand held expertly in the crook of his elbow.

“Your drink, sirs,” the waiter greeted. Shin and Sena both flinched slightly at the pop when the cork came off, but Sena laughed a second later, hand still on Shin’s. The waiter poured it into their glasses for them.

“Thanks!”

Shin stared over at Sena's smiling profile, his own mouth soft and eyes even softer. The champagne was almost golden in their flutes and Sena picked it up delicately, looking nervous about dropping it, and took a tiny sip. The expression, torn between delight and uncertainty, had Shin ducking his head.

“Is it up to your expectations?”

“Uh-yeah, it’s great. Thanks.”

“What would you like to order?”

Sena glanced at Shin, who shook his head slightly. “We’re not ready yet. Just a minute, please?”

“Of course, just wave me down when you are.”

“It’s so… so _swanky_. But they are pretty nice, you’re right,” Sena whispered to Shin the moment the waiter seemed out of earshot.

“Would you like me to help you order?” Shin asked. Sena smiled brightly. Their hands slowly pulled away so they could pick up the menus.

“Yeah, what’s some things you ordered?”

“They have a special menu that I order from, but I can show you what my mother and father prefer?”

“A… a special menu?”

“Catered to my more exacting nutritional needs. It’s why we come here so often. They tend to their customers’ needs very graciously,” Shin said absently as his eyes scanned the menu.

Sena blinked at Shin. Then stared around the restaurant. Then, back to Shin. _I’m pretty sure it has more to do with your family’s wallet than special needs of customers…_ Sena thought with a slight sweatdrop.

Sena ended up getting some fancy pasta dish with seafood and as much Parmesan on it as he could get away with. Shin’s had salmon and a whole bunch of steamed green leafy things. And… something that looked like rice, but wasn’t. Sena was just slurping up a (probably too big) mouthful of noodles when he caught motion out the corner of his eye. Shin had set aside his silverware with an aggravated scowl and was unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves. The smaller of the two froze, eyes wide, as Shin neatly and efficiently rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, baring _forearms_ and _wrists_ , and what was this the Victorian era?! Bare arms and _wrists_ should not look that erotic. But it _was_. The noodles smacked his nose he inhaled them so fast and, of course, immediately began to choke.

“Sena?” Shin queried in concern.

“F-Fine!” Sena wheezed. And then proceeding to _verbal diarrhea_ all over the place. From his parents showing up at his apartment with some missing sock or misplaced comic book and an armload of food, to every nitty-gritty detail of choosing his upcoming classes, all while his eyes darted around the room, his face got hotter and hotter, and he shoveled food in his mouth. _Did he remember to breathe?_

“Spelunking?” Shin interrupted. Sena slammed to a halt, sputtering and grabbing at his champagne. He was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to guzzle _super expensive champagne_ like it was soda, but his mouth was so dry.

“Y_yeah, I figured I had enough experience climbing _mountains_ , why not try caves? Monta-kun told me I should do something interesting if I needed _another_ outdoor activity on my transcript,” Sena gasped out, suddenly light-headed as he set the empty champagne glass down.

“… are you nervous still?” Shin asked after a slight hesitation and narrowed eyes. Sena wrenched his gaze in Shin’s direction. To see his hands clasp and his arms resting on the edge of the table. He was leaning forward just enough his biceps stretched the fabric over his arms tightly.

“Wh-Wha?” Sena blurted dumbly, blinking rapidly in Shin's direction.

Shin frowned harder. “Are you all right? Maybe you drank too quickly?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s it. I g-gotta- I _gotta pee, bye!_ ” Sena burst out, slamming his hands on the table before lightspeeding away.

The bathroom swung open wildly as Sena threw himself through. The bathroom attendant, with their fresh, white towels and pleasant smile, started with a shrill yelp. Fortunately no one else was hanging out in the stalls at the moment. (The signature blessing of most men’s rooms.)

“S-Sorry! I d-didn’t, I just n-need- _a towel_?” the runningback babbled, grasping at the proffered item a second later. Then, he buried his face into it and screamed quietly.

“Is- Is everything all right, sir?” the attendant asked haltingly.

“Everything’s fine. If you could give us a minute,” Shin said from behind Sena, face almost thunderous. Sena squeaked. The attendant frowned, but Shin sighed, reached into a pocket and handed over a couple folded bills. The man’s eyes bugged out of his head at however much Shin had given, then left with bows and profuse thanks and apologies.

“Did you… Did you just bribe a _bathroom attendant_?” Sena gasped.

“No. It was incentive.”

_That’s a bribe!_

“What is happening?” Shin demanded, arms crossing while he leaned against the bathroom door.

 _Not. Fair._ The posture emphasized _everything_. The perfectly fitted slacks, the shirt that _actually_ showed the _ridiculous_ shoulder to waist ratio, and _the sleeves with the arms and the everything_.

“I can’t- I can’t even look at you,” Sena groaned, slumping against the counter and dropping his face in his hands. “I’m a raging _mess_ because of the way you’re _dressed_ , Sei. There’s nothing _wrong_.”

Silence. A slither of cloth over cloth. Then, “The way I’m dressed.” Not a question.

“ _Yes_. You look… you look really good, okay? When we’re on the field, or we’re training, I mean, it’s _hot_ , but I’m _used_ to it. It helps that I see a lot of it every day anyway. There are some massive dudes on Enma. But, the… the _all this_ , with the sleeves. Did you _have_ to do that?” Sena almost whined before bursting into self-deprecating chuckles.

“The sleeves. I rolled up my sleeves.” Shin sounded absolutely dumbfounded. The chuckles became outright guffaws and Sena finally dropped his hands. He gripped the counter on either side of his hips and _laughed_.

“I swear, I’ll be fine. I just needed to catch my breath for a second. You’re kinda _gorgeous_ and I forget that sometimes,” Sena looked up, the corners of his eyes almost teary from his laughter and his cheeks still pink. Shin was just staring at him, eyes wide and hands dropped to his sides.

“Because of the way I’m dressed, you were affected like… _this_?” Shin said slowly as he stepped forward. Sena had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from pouting, eyes glancing away again.

“Well, yeah. It’s different and it fits so _good_. And the color- anyway. Aren’t there things I wear that… that affect yout?” Sena mumbled bashfully. He started slightly when Shin’s hands fell to the counter next to his. Big brown eyes glanced up into Shin’s, startled.

“There was one time.”

Sena gulped at the dark intensity building in Shin’s gaze. “Y-yeah?” he breathed out.

“When you wore my sweatshirt.”

Sena frowned, confused, wondering what Shin was talking about. Then, his eyes popped open wide. “You mean at the temple? When it rained?”

Shin nodded once as his glance raked down Sena’s chest, distance and hazy as if picturing it again.

“You could… you could give me… something of yours to keep? I wouldn’t mind, like, your old high school jersey, or something?” Sena offered, shuffling and fidgeting with his cuffs.

The sharp inhale had Sena blinking and gaping up at Shin’s expression. It was shuttered and his eyes were closed as if against pain, but that was a lot more telling than it would’ve been even a few months ago. “ _Oh_. Okay. Yeah, we should do that. I can sleep in it, or something. That’d be okay, right?”

“Yes.” The word was gritty and rough.

“So we should go finish din-” Sena broke off when Shin’s broad hands moved, one to bury into the hair at the back of his head, and the other to rest- heavy and warm even through the waistcoat and shirt- on his waist. Their eyes met and locked, Sena shuddering as he gripped at the sides of Shin’s bright shirt.

“Would you really wear it?”

Sena nodded quickly, licking his dry lips with the tip of his tongue. “I… I didn’t actually _think_ there was something like that that you noticed about me. I know you think I’m attractive! I do! I get it now! But I thought it was kinda… a _me_ thing? Not a ‘what I look like thing’?” Sena winced a little as he said it, feeling somehow self-effacing and boastful at once.

Shin huffed and brushed his nose over Sena’s. Sena had to bite back something that felt suspiciously like a giggle in his throat. Did Shin even notice he just _Eskimo_ kissed him?

“You’re beautiful, Sena.”

Sena stared, mouth parting, and the incremental distance between them made the moment too intense, too _serious_ , to be real.

“I don’t notice those things. I know this color goes well with your specific complexion, I know the clothes accentuate you figure and your body well. But I don’t need them to know I find you beautiful.”

Sena pressed his palms flat to Shin’s abdomen, sliding up to his chest, as his expression softened, smile growing. He probably looked stupidly and absurdly in love, but he didn’t even care.

“You’re not supposed to call _boys_ beautiful.”

“I never held myself to conventional standards before.”

Sena barked a soft laugh, then wrapped his arms easily around Shin’s neck and sank into the inevitable kiss.

He liked that. Inevitable kiss. A year ago, he never thought a kiss from _Shin_ would be _inevitable_. He never thought he’d be hiding in a bathroom of a much-too fancy restaurant, with Shin’s hands on him and their chests pressed so closely together he could feel Shin’s breaths- chest expanding, collapsing- against his own. Sena hoped and daydreamed with the best of the lovelorn, but a part of him had been _so sure_ he’d never get so lucky.

“Happy anniversary,” Sena whispered against Shin’s lips. He didn’t have to open his eyes to see _his smile_ , that smile that was _Sena’s_ , that barest of curves at the edges of Shin’s mouth.

Sena pushed up on his toes then, leaning his whole weight into Shin’s, pressing them from thigh to chest, arms holding him up, as he slanted his mouth under Shin’s with a suddenness that had his taller partner having to take a step back to re-position his balance. The surprised grunt, and the automatic reaction of arms thrown around his slender waist, had Sena internally fistpumping in triumph. His fists twisted into _that_ shirt, which was as soft and slick and velvety as it looked, and his tongue flicked out to swipe over Shin’s lip. Spring was nicer to Shin’s skin than winter, his lips soft and smooth under Sena’s, quickly warming and damp as the kiss deepened. He’d finally gotten the hang of this kind of kissing and breathing through his nose- _they’d kissed that much_ , he thought giddily- and it was _fantastic_. Being able to map out the exact taste and shape of Shin’s mouth, sliding tongue over tongue, lips slipping only to catch again and press harder. The counter bit into his lower back, causing a quiet _oof_ to escape him, but he took the opportunity to press his mouth to Shin’s neck. Like he’d noticed just last week, their first time, it froze Shin solid until Sena set his teeth to skin, just enough to feel the flesh dimple with the flat pressure, and a shudder passed down Shin’s larger frame.

And for a dizzying second, Sena felt it. That heady sense of _knowledge_. That _he_ could affect _Shin Seijuuro_ , reduce him to trembling with a press of teeth and lips, and he pulled that patch of skin into his mouth to suck harder, leaving behind a tribute to the moment. His mouth broke away with a surprised squeak when hands cupped his ass and hefted him right off his feet. He grinned feeling the counter under him, locked a leg over Shin’s hip, and tipped his hips forward.

The quaking, deep-pitched groan was ripped out of both of them. Stilling them, hands gripping too tight and breaths too fast.

A quiet, polite-sounding knocking interrupted the warm bubble of _them_. The sheer _annoyance_ on Shin’s face when he glared towards the door could kill a man, and it had Sena hiding his face against Shin’s neck just to stifle the fevered giggles. It was definitely giggles. 

“E-Excuse me, but I really need to allow other customers to enter the facilities,” murmured the vaguely familiar voice of… of… who? The bathroom attendant!

“Oh my _god_ ,” Sena whimpered in utter humiliation. “We’re in the _bathroom_.”

“Let’s leave.”

“Eh? But dinner?” Sena protested in surprise. Shin _actually looked conflicted_. Long enough that the attendant knocked again. “We can always get it to go?”

Shin cupped Sena’s face in his hands and pressed his mouth hard to Sena’s in a quick, fierce, mind-bending kiss.

“I take that as a yes?” Sena mumbled when Shin pulled away and gently set Sena back on his feet.

“Yes.”

Sena hid his flaming face in his hand, letting Shin yank him past the few waiting patrons. His boyfriend was literally going to drag him out of an insanely expensive classy restaurant so they could go have sex. If Suzuna were around, she’d probably nod in approval and say something about having priorities in the right order.  They went straight to the host podium and Shin almost brusquely demanded their food to be boxed and his driver to be called around. _Which was trippy as fuck._ Didn’t this happen in _dramas_ or something!?

Sena was holding a large paper bag in his lap, the bottom burning the top of his thighs, and sitting in the back seat of Hoshino’s limo what felt like seconds later. Maybe it was the champagne making his head this spinny, but he had a feeling it was the more the constant weight of Shin’s hand on his back.

“This is your key, Shin-san,” Hoshino said with a bow and discreetly passing of a small white rectangle into Shin’s hand when they got out of the car a while later. “I hope to see you again soon, Kobayakawa-kun.” He tipped his hat at Sena when the smaller man stumbled out on Shin’s heels.

“O-Oh, um, yes, you, too! Please, Sena is f-fine! And tell the Shins we really appreciate their generosity. Dinner was very good and the clothes are very nice. I’ll take care of them so I can return them.”

“I’m pretty sure they’re yours, Kobayakawa-kun.”

“Ehh?! B-But-”

“Argue with my mother about it later. Good night, Hoshino.”

Sena _swore_ he heard Hoshino stifle a chuckle at their expense before bowing and going back to the car.

“Don’t be _rude_ to him, Seijuuro!” Sena hissed, even as he kept pace with Shin’s rapid strides into the hotel. _Ritzy_ was definitely a good descriptor for it, too. But he barely caught sight of marble floors and chandeliers and giant vases of perfectly arranged bouquets, before Shin was herding him into a –

“Is this a gold elevator!?” Sena shrieked, gazing around himself in shock.

“It’s not real gold.”

“I _know that_!” Sena gulped and back up against the wall while Shin stalked towards him. “Wh-What are you doing? We’re a-almost there!”

“Mhm,” Shin agreed even as his hands fell to Sena’s waist, gripping tight the loose material of the open waistcoat and pulling them close. The doggy-bag fell with a rustle and a thump. 

“Really, we can wait,” Sena demurred.

But his hands had fallen to Shin’s bare wrists, sliding up forearms and staring down at them and wondering just _how_ that was _so_ hot. Sleeves should not be a sexy thing. Right? Shin ignored the feeble argument; not that Sena could blame him, he was ignoring it, too. They both met in the middle, mouths colliding, not even warming up first before going straight into the heady, head-spinning kind of kiss. Hands were almost frantic, pulling the tails of Shin’s shirt out of his waistband to slide up bare skin, curving down the shape of Sena’s back and hips and butt, erasing any space between them. They were panting harshly, sharing too hot breaths, lips sticking and catching in sounds that reverberated in the small space. The dainty _ping!_ of the elevator almost went unheeded.

With a disgruntled huff, Shin pulled away and yanked Sena with him. Sena staggered after him, barely remembering to snatch the bag back up again, eyes already heavy-lidded and mouth feeling swollen and bruised. He couldn’t stop pressing his fingers to his mouth, bag or no bag to make it awkward, thumb brushing over too sensitive skin as his other hand clasped Shin’s tightly. The door blinked green with the swipe of the card and Sena swung into the room ahead of Shin. It was too dark, even after the dimness of the hallway. Then, Shin slotted the keycard into the wall reader and the low-setting lights bathed the fancy room in golden light.

“Did we… did we check in?” Sena wondered, very belatedly, eyes on the bed.

A hand fell on his shoulder, turning him and then pushing him up against the nearest wall. Shin gently took the take-out bag away, dropped it on the nearest shelf, then loomed into Sena's personal bubble.

“Didn’t need to,” Shin stated simply, focused on Sena’s tie. Sena swallowed _hard_ , throat audibly clicking as black silk slid through those big, calloused hands. It was tossed like unwanted trash across the room and the waistcoat followed quickly. With its condom... they probably wouldn't need it  _right now_.

“I think…I think we shouldn’t just throw that-” the runningback tried to protest, even as his fingers eagerly began undoing the buttons- _too many buttons_ \- of Shin’s yellow shirt. Somehow they were standing _so close_ , barely enough room for their hands to fumble and bump in each other’s way. Their shoes were kicked off with flinch-worthy thuds.

“They’re _clothes_ ,” Shin grumbled, shucking the red shirt aside. It fluttered to the ground, a pretty silken puddle on the ground, but Sena was too busy staring at Shin. He pulled the shirt down slowly, palms smoothing over the curve and bulge of muscle, heart thundering in his ears.

It took a bit of tugging, but the sleeves finally pulled over the last swell of muscle and Sena let it fall away. Just so his hands could be free to smooth back up again, fingers tracing abdominals, the smooth ridge of ribcage, the heavy indent just under the pectorals. As his hands trailed over shoulders, brushing into the short, fine hairs on the back of Shin’s neck, he looked up into Shin’s dark, heated gaze.

“Hold me up?” Sena whispered, sounding almost too much like a demand to be a request.

Shin’s nostrils flared lightly, but his hands reached down to grip the back of Sena’s thighs and he was hefted up with a quiet grunt and held against the smooth, cool wall at his back. Sena murmured a satisfied _yeah_ , sunk his hands into Shin’s hair, and placed an open-mouthed, desperate kiss to Shin’s lips. He felt the pleased hum down into his _bones_. Bracing his weight against the wall, feeling secure in the hold of Shin’s solid, tensed arms, Sena rocked forward. His thighs tightened around Shin’s hips as they panted and gasped, grinding too hard, too fast, _so good_. His belt was cutting into his stomach, but the idea of pulling away from the hot pressure against his groin was agonizing. When he shifted just right and found the heavy line of Shin’s cock through his pants, lining them up together perfectly, Sena moaned eagerly, hips thrusting forward faster.

“Off.”

“ _No_ ,” Sena whined desperately. He blinked and yanked away so fast his head hit the wall. “I’m sorry I mean, y-yes. O-Of course, was I-”

“Sena.” Shin gasped, forehead thumping to the curve of Sena’s neck. “Just. The pants.”

“Oh. _Oh_ , yeah, let’s,” Sena shoved his hands down between them, earnestly yanking and pulling at belts with shaking hands. It took a bit of wriggling, but he managed to push Shin’s grey slacks down far enough that they fell on their own the rest of the way to the floor. Baring his navy blue boxer briefs that already had a small damp patch of darker blue. He set his thumb to the wetness, rubbing gently and then smoothing down the length of him. A hand slammed into the wall behind Sena’s head, and his heartbeat racheted up, mouth drying, but something hot and heavy settled low in his stomach. Making him _ache_. He scrambled to unbuckle his own belt and shove both pants and briefs down. Only to have them stop short, blocked by Shin’s pelvis. Sena dropped his head, thudding forehead to Shin’s collarbone.

“Sena, take them _off_.”

“I’m going! Just, wait, I gotta,” he wriggled a bit, making Shin hiss and curl his hand into a fist against the wall.  Sena’s feet hit the ground and his pants were pushed down and kicked away. He took the moment before climbing back up Shin like a sexy, sturdy _tree_ to hook his thumbs in the elastic band of Shin’s underwear and slowly rolled them down, and over and _off_. The cut, glistening-red cock smacked against Shin's belly when freed. 

“I didn’t… I didn’t really let myself think about it last time,” Sena muttered, thumb slipping over the silky tip of Shin’s dick, smearing precum down the smooth ridge where the frenulum should be.

“What?” Shin grunted into Sena’s hair.

“You don’t have…never mind. Just catch,” Sena half-laughed and shook his head. He threw one arm over Shin’s neck and pulled up. He hooked one leg over Shin’s hip and the linebacker easily caught the other leg and hauled him back up.

The heaving sigh of relief had Sena grinning and blushing at once. Before Shin could get _grumpy_ again, Sena wrapped his hand around Shin’s cock, overlooking his own for now. He was too invested in watching Shin’s stomach muscles jump and his hips jerk forward. He tightened his hand enough to _feel_ the low, rumbling moan rip as if straight from Shin’s chest. Another loud thud to the wall that made it shake against Sena’s back, and Sena moved his hand faster, thumb slipping over the head, fingers and palm curled over and twisting just slightly as he slid back down.

“W-Wait, you, too,” Shin muttered, hips still as he looked down between them. Sena blinked and remembered the last time.

Gulping, he nodded and opened his hand. Shin thrust them closer together, dick tacky and sticky along the line of his hipbone, until Sena could get most of one hand around them both. He could really see this time, and he eyes were locked on them, the smooth, dark-red head skidding along his own, foreskin pulled back and dick looking almost _angry_ red from being neglected so long as they unconscious thrust up into his loose grip. He whined into the sweaty skin of Shin’s chest. The fingers at his thigh tensed and dug in deeper, and Sena moved to keep most of his weight up with the wall.

“Give me your hand,” Shin whispered against the shell of his ear. He shivered, at the hot breath over his ear or the words themselves, he couldn’t tell. Sena glanced up, confused, but held up his hand.

Breath stuttered and died in his throat when Shin took his fingers in his mouth, tongue wetting them totally, even swiping over his palm. He could feel his cock twitch, even more clear precum sliding down the shaft. “ _Sei_ …” Sena exhaled, remembering how to when Shin’s mouth popped off his thoroughly soaked fingers.

“Try it now.”

Sena nodded again. Flushed and trembling, Sena wrapped his hand back around them as best he could. He jerked them off, slowly at first, until both their hips were thrusting, rhythm erratic and breaths fast. Their grunts and gasps tumbled over the other, sweat making one leg slip low as Shin’s grip dug into the meaty flesh of his other thigh, holding him up even as his arm shook. Shin shoved forward, pushing Sena even further back, skidding him up a little higher. A startled cry broke free, but he merely wrapped his arm tighter around Shin’s shoulders, fingernails skimming over damp, feverish skin, and let his head thud back. Because of course Shin’s mouth was on his neck, teeth biting down, hard and fast and Sena felt trapped between his own hand and Shin’s mouth.

His hand convulsed around them, thumb slipping over the heads to spread slick and saliva. The feel of it, with Shin’s almost-too-harsh bite, had Sena toppling over, spilling over his fingers and against their stomachs. The hand that had been braced on the wall encircled Sena’s where he’d frozen, pumping him through the last of his release until he was twitching and sobbing with it, too sensitive but feeling too good to pull away.

“You look good like this,” Sena blinked blearily up at Shin, mouth red and damp and eyes hazy. Was he… talking? “I want a picture. Of this. Don’t want to. Forget,” he panted hoarsely, voice that rumble-growl that made Sena’s dick twitch valiantly, though spent. He didn’t have time to think about Shin’s words though, because the moment their eyes met, Sena’s cheeks red and hair matted to his temples and forehead, Shin apparently had what he needed to peak at least. Whole body shaking and hips stuttering forward as cum tagged along Sena’s belly and hip and groin.

Gravity won at last, with a giant _fuck you_ , and they both slid down. Shin’s knees hit hard, Sena’s bare bum hitting cold tile. But they just breathed hard and painful, gulping down air and hands clutching at slippery skin.

“My socks are still on,” Sena realized dumbly.

Shin’s hands convulsed where they grasped at him, then he curled around his smaller partner and genuine laughter bubbled out of him. Scratchy, raspy, and nearly silent, he huffed and shook with chuckles. Sena smiled dazedly up at him.

“You look beautiful when you laugh,” he said drunkenly. Drunken in a way alcohol never accomplished. He felt like he _was_ champagne. Bubbly and a million bucks a bottle.

And he was cum-stupid. So cumdumb.

“Bed please?” he whimpered pitifully.

“Shower,” Shin replied. Sena pouted.

“ _Bed_.”

“Really?”

“ _Yes_. _Bed_. Grab a-a-” Sena wiggled and flailed around until he spotted them. “There! Towels! We'll just wipe off the worst and _sleep._ We can shower properly in the morning. Together?”

He bargained hopefully, eyes wide and pleading. Shin huffed again, eyes not _quite_ rolling, but nodded and slowly dragged them both up. Somehow, Sena ended up with his legs hooked over Shin’s arm, the other cradling his back to keep him pressed close to Shin’s chest, despite the sticky mess between them.

“I thought I appreciated your arms before. It was not enough,” he mumbled, giggling and sighing when he was dropped onto the bed. It was fluffy and bouncy and _huge_ and _pillows_. He snagged a giant one and buried his face in it.

He was out like a light before Shin came back with a towel.

 

Shin scoffed quietly and wiped down Sena's utterly lax body as best he could, making sure to get the worst of the mess. He perfunctorily wiped himself down, sighing in relief when he finally got to slump onto the bed himself. The movement had the already snoring Sena rolling closer. Long, still warm and damp limbs wrapped around Shin as the runningback snuggled close, disregarding the pillow he'd just been koala-ing to nuzzle against the ball of Shin's shoulder and throw an arm over Shin's torso. Shin pulled the loose sheet over them and pressed his nose to the crown of Sena's hair, eyes closed and arms tight around Sena's waist. "Happy anniversary."

Sena mumbled incoherently, and smiled in his sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but srsly tho. why is all my porn almost 20 pages long? CAN'T I JUST HAVE SIMPLE FUN SEXY TIEMS? NOOOOO gotta have fucking BACKSTORY. I will do an PWP one day.
> 
> Also, had [THIS SONG](http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=P3AP-Q91Rc0#Tha_Los_-_Open_Your_Eyes) on repeat constantly during the writing. Not remotely sexy, except, you know, that fucking voooiiicceee. I'd screw someone stupid to the sound of that voice, too. 
> 
> Shin's adorable cradle at the end of the chapter is in fact inspired by an adorable doodle by ketolic. I think it was for her Bladerunner AU, but you can't see his prosthetic legs, so it's all good. Also... Sena's outfit is kinda like blue-bird's adorable [ old art](http://0blue-bird0.tumblr.com/post/95503792741/sorry-im-not-as-good-at-this-as#tumblr_notes)... that actually wasn't on purpose? Shin's shirt is [HERE](http://outfitideashq.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mens-yellow-dress-shirt-outfit-idea.jpg)


	4. Kinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three days later, a thick manila envelope made its way to the Shin residence. Return address: Takami’s. Shin accepted it from Hoshino with a puzzled frown and distracted thanks. Taped to the back was a small, single sheet of paper folded into eighths.
> 
> 'I implore you to figure out how to use your own computer. I must respectfully decline any such research assistance you may require in the future. Good luck in your …endeavors.' The note read simply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts on sex toys? Who tops during sex? How do they like their sex? How rough can the sex get before it’s taken too far? And then some *eyebrow waggle* (Most of these questions are answered _in theory_. 
> 
> PLEASE READ ENDNOTES FOR A LIST OF KINKS DISCUSSED AND A LONGER AUTHOR NOTE THAT'S SORTA KINDA REALLY IMPORTANT?

 

Takami pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose in astonishment. It was just a few days after the small group of Americans had left. Summer was in full, humid, sunny swing, Tokyo’s skyline a hazy, indistinct wavering in its heat. This day in particular was sunny and bright (though that wouldn’t necessarily make a difference, as past experiences had proven), in other words, the perfect day for running up a certain renowned mountain. But for some reason, Shin had tracked Takami to his familial home- his retreat during the school breaks, why spend more money?- and was currently standing on the older man’s stoop. In the stern-faced linebacker’s hands, he held out a folded piece of print-paper, whatever being printed on it hidden within the folds out of sight.

“You need what from me exactly?” Takami inquired curiously as he took the paper.

“Help with the internet research required for this project. A personal one.” Shin answered bluntly. His frowned darkened slightly. “I went to the library. The attendant did help with some pertinent books and journals on the subjects, but much of it is online only. They didn’t think it appropriate to use the library public computers for this kind of study.”

Takami’s eyebrows shot up, glasses slipping down his nose. He unfolded the paper a second later, frowning incredulously. “Just what kind of research are you conducting, Shin?” His frown was almost Shin-levels of intensity as his dark eyes scanned the page. “These all seem to be personal blog sites. A few look a little less amateur, but… can’t you just look these up yourself?” Takami's eyes didn’t rise from the paper as he spoke, mouthing a few of the stranger-looking blog-titles silently. Some of the web domains and the end of the urls were very… odd.

“I attempted to do so. The keyboard was defective and flimsy. I was asked to leave when I requested a replacement,” Shin replied calmly and without a trace of shame or guilt.

Takami barely restrained a snort. “All right. I’ll help.” Mostly just to satisfy his own curiosity. “How soon do you need it back?”

Shin glanced away, arms crossing over his chest. “I understand you have private affairs to attend to, but I prefer it as soon as possible.”

Any minutes now, Takami would _stop_ being startled by this conversation. Or anything Shin ever did.

“I see,” Takami drawled, hiding his actual reaction under his own, smirkier, poker face. “I’ll attempt to return it within a week.”

For a moment, Shin’s perfect stoicism broke. Flared nostrils, the corners of his mouth and eyes tightening, barely betraying an expression of impatience. The stone-faced scowl slammed back down as he reined himself in and nodded once, briskly.

“My thanks.”

And with that, he took his leave.

“You’re welcome and good-bye, Shin,” Takami huffed amusedly. “Let’s go see what our strange friend is up to,” he muttered to himself, backing into his home and closing the door.

Three days later, a thick manila envelope made its way to the Shin residence. Return address: Takami’s. Shin accepted it from Hoshino with a puzzled frown and distracted thanks. Taped to the back was a small, single sheet of paper folded into eighths.

 _I implore you to figure out how to use your own computer. I must respectfully decline any such research assistance you may require in the future. Good luck in your …endeavors._ The note read simply.

“Good news, dear?” Juuri queried in concerned interest.

“Yes and no,” Shin said slowly, carefully re-folding the note. “It seems I need to sign up for computer classes this fall.”

Juuri and Seisuke exchanged baffled, but _amused_ glances.

“Son, you need _technology_ lessons,” Seisuke joked before booming with laughter.

Juuri placed her fingertips to her mouth even as her lips curved upwards. “Perhaps one of your friends would be better suited to the task? Sena-kun, even?” she suggested.

“Hn,” Shin grunted pensively, then set his chopsticks to the side. “May I be excused?”

He had some reading to do before training, after all.

* * *

 

Sena opened the door later that same day. He was smiling brightly and still damp from the post-practice shower. His shoulders were slumped with that familiar weariness the best training wrought, and he wore the sort of clothes he only ever wore at home. Sweatpants with holes at the knees and a t-shirt faded from washing and loose around the neck. A lazy greeting had Shin waving towards Monta, who was sprawled across the couch, lethargic and mostly unconscious. Shin stepped into the apartment and out of the heat gratefully. Due to his own daily routine and practice, he had taken his own shower, but hadn’t quite dried before throwing on clothes to get to Sena’s after Sakuraba announced his text. His clothes stuck to him awkwardly thanks to sweat from humidity made even worse from shower dampness.

“I’m surprised you came so quickly! I was expecting you after dinner. How was practice?” Sena asked, already handing over a glass of iced barley water.

Shin chugged it down gratefully. He froze, pulled the cup from his lips, and then stared down at it, eyebrows high. Sena pressed his lips tightly together to keep from bursting into laughter at the scandalized expression.

“It’s just a little bit of cinnamon, Seijuuro.”

Shin flicked his gaze up at Sena, one eyebrow still high, before finishing off the cup. “Thank you. It’s not bad.”

“Sounds like ringing endorsement. Come on, let’s go lay out in front of my fan and listen to some podcasts I downloaded. You’ll like them.”

“I will?”

“Yup,” Sena replied cheerfully.

“I wanted to have a discussion with you,” Shin protested bemusedly. The privacy of Sena’s room, though, was better than having the talk in the living room next to a snoring Monta. He followed on Sena’s heels to his bedroom. “Where’s Riku?”

“He went out to meet up with some friends. I think some of the Takekura guys, actually,” Sena explained easily, already across his room and fiddling with his computer.

“Good.”

Sena looked over at Shin in confusion at that. “I thought you liked Rikku-kun?”

“Not the matter at hand. Can you please come sit down?” Shin entreated, gesturing towards the open space on the bed next to him. Sena blinked, but obediently walked over and sat down.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes, everything is fine. However, I had a feeling that we should discuss a certain aspect of our relationship after the last…last occurrence…” Shin frowned as he stumbled over the right word to use.

“Occurrence? I don’t- Is this about the not telling you everything? Because I get it! Really! I’m more than willing to share more and not think I’m a total downer or bother. I get that those things matter to you just as much as they matter to me! Really!” Sena exclaimed, hands clasping around one of Shin’s, brown eyes earnest and mouth firm with resolve. Shin couldn’t help but trace his thumb along the bottom of Sena’s lip, fingers holding his pointed chin gently. Sena didn’t look away or get nervous. Just kept his gaze steady on Shin’s.

“I was talking about our sexual experiences, Sena.”

There was the blushing and rapid back-flailing. Sena squeaked and almost flailed himself off the bed, face tomato red and eyes wide.

“Our what? No, wait, don’t repeat it!” Sena hissed, slapping his hands over Shin’s mouth. The look Shin gave him was the epitome of unimpressed. Sena chuckled weakly and let his hands drop. “I me-mean, o-of c-course you can! C-Cause we’re a-adults.”

“Yes.” Shin gave Sena one last lingering look, then reached in his pocket and took out a single, much-folded piece of paper. “This is the list I made using the information your friend Emily gave me and the research from that list.”

“E-Emily? Oh! The paper she gave you at the airport?” Sena asked with dawning understanding. He took the paper offered as Shin nodded his affirmation.

“This isn’t what she gave me, how-”

“ _Oh my god_.” Sena shrieked, luckily high-pitched and breathless, so the sound didn’t escape his room. His blush, which had been gradually fading, returned in full force, from his hairline and all the way down to his collarbones. He slapped the paper flat to his chest and stared at Shin, eyes bulging and jaw hanging almost to his knees. “This is a- _Is this a kink list_?”

“Ah, kink. The sexual predilections of a person.”

“I _know the definition_ , Seijuuro!”

Shin slipped the paper out of Sena’s admittedly weak grasp and smoothed it over his thigh. “I believe this list could be termed so, yes. After the last time, we discussed my… _kink_ for leaving a… _mark_ behind, and how you were not adverse to it.”

“How can you make this sound so dry?” Sena murmured to himself incredulously.

Shin’s mouth twitched, but he forged on. “When I realized just what Emily had given me, I decided to do thorough research on the topic of sexual tastes, or _kinks_ , so that we may apply them to _us_.”

Sena was still gaping and flushed an extremely concerning shade of red. Shin frowned lightly, a bit of uncertainty settling in his shoulders. Shrugging the tension aside, he glanced back down at the paper. “I’m not experienced in these things. I don’t like not _understanding_ what I want, or how I feel.”

“J-Just like when I told you I liked you over a year ago. You researched romance and dating and… and _stuff_ , just so you could be sure of what to say to me,” Sena realized slowly. Shin nodded, relieved. “I g-guess this makes sense. And… maybe it’s b-best…” Sena fidgeted a bit, fingers twisting and wringing agitatedly. “Now that we’re actually _doing_ this, talking about it, and what we like or think we might like, that’s…that’s a _good_ thing.”

“I don’t like going in blind,” Shin agreed readily. Sena laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, his flush down to a more normal pink shade. Thankfully. Shin really _was_ getting anxious over that. He had almost turned purple for a second.

“So… umm… the list?” Sena stuttered, holding out his hand. Beckoning. Shin handed it back over willingly. “Did you put them in any preferential order?”

Shin shook his head. “I merely put them in alphabetical order. I did not want _my_ opinion to sway yours before you could even look.”

Sena grinned awkwardly, somewhere between relieved and fond and _discomforted_ all at once.

“So, first one, ana-” Sena almost swallowed his tongue, choking and gasping for air. Shin patted his back quickly.

“Sena?”

“ _Really? The first one?_ ” Sena gasped, tears in his eyes as he gulped down air.

“It’s _alphabetical_ , Sena.”

Sena dropped his face in both his hands, ignoring the paper crumpling against his cheek. He was too busy trying not to groan in humiliation.

“Sena, it’s just anal. _Doctors_ use that term,” Shin said despairingly, snatching the paper back and smoothing it out again methodically. Sena let out a squeak muffled by his hands. “I take it that _this_ is a no.” He plucked a pen off Sena’s nightstand to cross it out.

“What! No! I didn’t say that!” Sena yelped, looking up and grasping Shin’s wrist. Shin stared at him, bewildered, pen still hovering over the list. “It’s just- It’s kinda jumping into the deep end for me, okay? Just… let me re-adjust at bit.” The runningback sighed, dropping his hand away. His eyes fluttered closed and he breathed deep to calm his racing heart. Shin narrowed his eyes down at him. He thought Sena would have some difficulty, but so quickly? And so much? He’d have to reschedule a bit in his mind to accommodate for this. Sena finally opened his eyes, jaw firmed, and gave Shin a nod.

“So, would you like to try anal penetration?” Shin asked bluntly. Sena flinched a little.

“Y-Yes. Eventually, I would. I… I know some gay couples don’t, and it’s totally fine, there’s plenty to do. But… I’d like to try it. Would you?” Sena managed to answer relatively clearly.

Shin frowned down at the paper. “I am honestly not sure. There’s a lot of preparation involved, not to mention hygiene issues. It’s a lot of effort for something we might not enjoy,” he pointed out astutely. Sena nodded, but still looked unconvinced, fingers twisting in the hem of his shirt.

“I get all that, but… I do… wanna… try…” his voice got steadily lower as he spoke.

“In what manner?” Sena frowned at the question, obviously not understanding. Shin tapped the paper. “One does the penetrating-”

“ _Oh my god, please stop using that word_.”

“And the other one is penetrated. Why can’t I use that word?”

“It’s just- use _top_ or _bottom_ ,” Sena begged almost desperately. Shin frowned, eyes squinting.

“I don’t see how those terms capture the nuance of meaning necessary.”

“It’s a little simplistic, I get it, but it’s just easier. Top for the… the _doing_ part and bottom for the…t-taking p-part,” Sena explained, stuttering and rushed. Shin’s eyebrow raised.

“You wouldn’t necessarily have to be on top to be penetr-”

“SO! I was thinking I could try the b-bottoming thing!” Sena interrupted shrilly. Shin blinked once.

“Really?”

Sena shuffled a bit and nodded, eyes downcast. “I know it’s a little stereotypical, the ‘littler guy’ being bottom, but I just thought… maybe I’d l-like it,” Sena confessed quietly. Shin glanced down at the list, face pensive. “We don’t have to, though! It’s just… I don’t want to take it completely off the table?”

“In the interest of full experimentation, we’ll take turns,” Shin said decisively, making a note next to the entry. Sena gulped loudly, pupils dilating, as he swung around and stared at Shin. “If we don’t like it either way, we’ll just stop. But if it’s something you know you’re interested in, and I’m unsure but have no _negative_ feelings about, then we should try it both ways.”

“You would… you would _bottom_?” Sena asked incredulously. The linebacker shrugged.

“I’d try it. I don’t put stock in stereotypes, Sena. I’m not going to only try one way because I’m the ‘bigger’ guy in this relationship,” Shin replied frankly. Sena nodded, looking dazed and dumbfounded.

“The next one?” he prompted, swallowing hard past a suddenly dry throat.

“Asphyxiation,” Shin stated in with a dark, heavy scowl. Sena blinked.

“What the what?”

“It’s also called choking.”

“EH?!” Sena snatched the list away and stared at the word, as if staring would give him answers to the tumble of questions in his mind. “ _Choking_? People do that?! Why?”

“So you’re not interested,” Shin said with a relieved sigh.

“No, I don’t like the idea of you almost killing me during sex!” He immediately turned beet-red saying the word aloud. “Why would people do that?” he hurriedly asked.

“Apparently it makes the orgasm better. I… I did not research it quite as thoroughly as I should have. I wasn’t…I didn’t find it appealing,” Shin grumbled, crossing out the word with a quick jerk of his wrist.

“Agreed. What’s next- biting? Oh.” Sena’s hand reach up to touch his neck, where the last bit of pinkish discoloration from a week before lingered. Shin felt his eyes follow the motion, stuck where Sena’s thumb smoothed over the vestiges of the mark Shin had left behind. Their eyes met and Sena’s smiled, secretive and bashful. “I think that’s a yes. Can I… to you?”

“Yes,” Shin agreed quickly, hoarsely. Sena looked away, blushing and biting down on his lip to keep from grinning. With a rough clearing of his throat, Shin dragged his attention back down to the list. “Bondage.”

Sena started in shock. “B-Bondage?” He wet his lips with a swift flick of his tongue. “L-like, with ropes and stuff?”

“… yes, that’s the more… experienced kind, however. The articles and blogs recommended using scarves, ties, or even handcuffs first. They include basic restraint sometimes, such as just using hands and natural strength.”

As Shin carefully remembered his reading, Sena was already squirming. He knew how strong Shin was, he’d been pinned down and hefted up dozens of times. He still remembered their anniversary night with blazing clarity. It may have starred in several jerk-off fantasies, unsurprisingly. Sena liked that Shin was strong, was _stronger_ than him, but always knew to keep things gentle off the field. But what if Shin _could_ use that strength in the bedroom? Pinning Sena down, keeping him still and unable to move, totally at Shin’s mercy? That… sounded really… really _fun_. Shin was so _thorough_ , and he had so much more control than Sena did. And Sena trusted Shin more than he’d ever trusted anyone. They could… they could do something like that and it’d be _fun_.

“Yes.” The word came out a little too breathy, his heart thudding in his throat and his hands gripping the loose fabric of his t-shirt over his belly, where something hot was twisting and burning. “I want that.”

Shin easily checked it. “I don’t see anything wrong with it, as long as we’re careful. I don’t know how much I’d like it done to me-”

“To _me_. I’d like you to do that to _me_ ,” Sena clarified quickly, too quickly. It had Shin staring at him in surprise. “I’m fast, but you’re the strong one. I _like_ that you’re stronger. I like that you… that you take care of me… when we…” Sena blushed brightly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I just trust you to do it right.”

Shin’s grip tightened around the pen in his hand. “We’ll definitely try it.”

Sena nodded, licking his lips again, then glanced towards the list. “Collars?” His head tilted to the side. “Like… _pet_ collars?”

“They can be made and ordered specially for humans, I read,” Shin said tonelessly, eyes still distant.

“I don’t think I’d like feeling like a pet. I buy collars for _cats_. Though…” He narrowed his eyes on Shin’s neck. “You could probably pull the look off.”

Shin snorted loudly, finally breaking out of his reverie and crossing the item off. “I don’t like the idea of being owned, or owning you.”

“And if you wanna be all possessive, we’ve already okayed biting,” Sena attempted to tease, smirk a little wobbly and cheeks pink. Shin shot him a _look_.

“Indeed.” He looked down at the list and something like _want_ flitted over his features before he carefully shuttered it away. “Coming untouched.”

Sena blinked, his thoughts going again to last week, Shin shuddering over him, groaning into the damp curve of his throat. “I don’t think we have a problem with that one,” he said a little breathlessly.

“I’d like to try that with you.”

Sena flushed up to his hairline. “O-okay. We could do that.”

Shin nodded once and tapped the next one. “I don’t understand the appeal of this one.”

Leaning over to squint at it, Sena pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle giggles. “Really? You don’t like the idea of crossdressing?” he asked, both amused and curious. “I thought every guy likes maid costumes or school girl uniforms.”

Shin’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “I’ve seen males in maid costumes. Ootawara in such a thing was not attractive at all.”

Sena burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching at his stomach. “I totally forgot about that! Sakuraba-kun looked cute, though, right?” Sena wiped at his eyes and gasped painfully.

“If you say so.”

“What about… um… l-l-lingerie? Some guys… they like wearing fancy lingerie stuff? Suzuna showed me a website that made it especially for men and threatened to buy me some for my birthday last year.”

“ _Why_?” Shin honestly looked perplexed at the idea. "Did she want to see you wear it for her?"

“What!? No! It was because she’s _Suzuna_ and she likes embarrassing me,” Sena sighed, slumping a little. “But she also thought if I wore it I could… _seduce_ you or something. It was back when I thought maybe you didn’t want to… you know… _ever_.”

“Ah. I don’t think such tactics would have worked on me. If I wanted to be seduced, putting clothes _on_ would not be the way to do it,” Shin said nonchalantly.

Sena choked on air.

“The next one is _docking_. I… Is this something you want to try?” Shin asked, a little bewildered. Sena blinked, still coughing and panting for air.

“W-Whassat?”

Shin pointed to the word and the little handwritten blurb of an explanation. Sena promptly choked again. “Is th-that _f-fun_?”

“I have no idea, but research claims it so.”

“I don’t hate the idea of it?” Sena wheezed slowly.

“Maybe, then.”

“People are weird. Who looked at… at _that_ and thought, let’s do this and see what happens? Who was the first person to try that?” Sena wondered aloud. Shin’s mouth twitched.

“Someone with a fixation and a lot of curiosity.”

Sena snort-chuckled helplessly. “What’s the next one?”

“Speaking of fixations. Oral fixation was a term I found. I wrote it down… I… I don’t think I have such fixation, but I like the idea of my mouth on you.”

He really _did_. After trying his hand at oral last week, he couldn’t get the idea of spending hours just _practicing_. Keeping his mouth on Sena's cock, feeling him soft in his mouth, getting harder, figuring out exactly where and how to get the best reactions, how deep could he get him down his throat. He liked Sena’s fingers in his mouth, and the taste of his skin and juddery pulse on Shin’s tongue. He liked feeling Sena come _undone_ under his mouth.

“Y-yeah, I… I like it, too,” Sena murmured, pulling Shin out of his musings.

He checked the item with something close to smugness.

“Orgasm Delay or Denial.”

Sena squawked. “Denial!?”

“I liked the delay one. I like making you wait. You’re too fast, want it too quickly. I like it when you wait for me to tell you to let go,” Shin admitted. Sena pressed his hands to his red face.

“I think I’m boiling my brain today,” he muttered to himself. “I’m going to stain my face permanently tomato-red.”

“I don’t think that’s possible. Is that a no?”

“N-No. I mean, it’s not a no? I… I like that, too. Like with the… with the restraining bondage stuff. I like… like you telling me… telling me what to do. I get so embarrassed and self-conscious,” Sena was mumbling by this point, hands twisting his shirt in his hands so tightly the threads were creaking. “It’s nice not having to be anxious or worried because I know I’m doing it right if you’re _telling_ me to do it. I don’t like the denial part though. I _want_ to… you know.”

“But if I ask you to wait, you’d be okay with that?” Shin clarified, voice a little too low. Sena rapidly nodded, voiceless.

“Prostate Stimulation.”

Sena wheezed. “That’s an a-a-nal thing.”

Shin had to fight down the insane surge of pride that Sena managed to _finish_ saying 'anal'. “Yes, I know. We agreed to give that a try. This should be a maybe, too?”

“Y-yes. I… I don’t where how to… find it…though?”

“It’s not a subway system. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Sena laughed helplessly, forehead knocking against Shin’s shoulder.

“It should really help with the coming untouched. If we’re sensitive enough, some men just don’t enjoy it.”

Sena nodded soundlessly, then placed his finger on the list. “Public sex, Seijuuro? Really? _You_ would be okay with that?”

“Ah… no.”

“What about... _kinda_  public? Like… the bathroom at that restaurant? Where we might get caught, but probably not if we do it right… how was that?” Sena specified, keeping his face hidden against Shin’s arm. Shin stared down at him.

“That’s something _you_ like.”

Sena squeaked, knowing he was caught. “I…I may have… um… fantasized about… the locker rooms…” he mumbled, voice so muffled by Shin’s arm that the older man almost couldn’t make it out.

And well… Shin didn’t put those things together. Football was football, his romantic relationship was _separate_. He couldn’t merge them together because he and Sena were on opposing teams. He couldn’t grey area his career and his relationship, they both deserved more respect than that.

But… Sena seemed really keen on the idea. And if it wasn’t after a practice, or if it were after a game with _another_ team… He remembered that kiss after the Rice Bowl. He remembered how hot his blood had been after his victory, how intense every caress had felt, magnified by a thousand with his blood still pounding so close to the surface, skin already feverish. Only Sena's less than joyful demeanor had cooled his ardor that night. 

“We could… try that. I prefer not before a game, or if the game is us against each other.”

“Yeah!” Sena yelped eagerly. He blushed brightly and quickly reined himself in. “Yeah, that’d be… let’s try that sometime.”

Shin was almost smiling as he looked back down at the list. The barely-there lift of his lips died a quick death, wiping away between one blink and the next. He hadn’t wanted to write down this option.

“I don’t like this one,” he said firmly. Sena glanced over. A quickdrawn breath and his eyes widening were his first, involuntary reactions.

“No, I don’t think I do, either. It’s like the choking thing. I don’t want to hurt you, or you to hurt me. Not like _this_ , not even if it’s pretend. I don’t want to pretend to be scared of you, and I’ve never liked having power over anyone else. Definite no on that.”

Shin gratefully crossed out _rape-play/Noncon scenes._

“I thought… since you liked the bondage… you might…” For once, Shin was stumbling for words, looking uncomfortable and edgy. Sena reached out and placed his hand on Shin’s wrist. His thumb swept over the knob of bone, soothing and gently.

“Sei, I would never ask you to do something you truly despise. This is for _both_ of us. And that other stuff? I liked it because I _trust you not to hurt me_. You can pin me down or tie me up, but it’s not about the pain. It’s about putting myself in your control and knowing you’ll _take care of me_. That? That’s pretending you’re _really hurting me_ , that I’m _scared of you_. I could never be scared of you. Not since I was 15 and a weak little bullied kid with zero confidence. _You gave me confidence_. You never hurt people because you _like to_ , and I know that. I’ve always known that.”

Shin shoulders slumped and the expression he turned on Sena was overwhelming in affection and _gratitude._

“I love you.”

Sena smiled and ducked his head. “Jeez, Seijuuro. Anyone who actually knows you can tell you’re a nice guy. You just _look_ angry. C’mon, finish the list.” He snuggled closer though, arm snaking in between Shin’s side and arm to hug his bicep like a pillow. The soft huff of Shin’s breath over Sena’s hair had the shortie smiling. "Love you, too," he added quietly. Shin pressed a kiss to the crown of his head- the sappy sap of a cheeseball- and brought the list up to read. 

“Rimming is the next one. I don’t thi-”

Sena made a soft, quickly stifled noise.

“Sena?”

“I… I just… it always looked like they really enjoyed it…” Sena muttered.

“They? …are you talking about pornography?”

Sena ‘eep’ed and slapped a hand to his face. “Yes, maybe.”

“At least one of us watches it," Shin retorted wryly. His eyes traveled down to the item in question once more, features concerned. "I’m really worried about mouths anywhere near that area.”

Sena burst into giggles, sagging against Shin’s side and feeling almost drunk from light-headedness. One day, ONE DAY, talking about sex won’t be this hard.

“There’s stuff to do… to use… to keep it clean. But if it’s really gross for you, it’s okay. We don’t have to.”

“…is it in a lot of pornography?”

“It’s in almost every one I’ve watched. It’s pretty popular. Don’t worry, though! It’s fine! We don’t have to!”

Shin frowned down at the list. “I’ll watch some videos first. I need a better informed opinion.”

“You’re… you’re going to watch _porn_ … to get a better informed opinion on _rimming_?” Sena blurted in shock. Shin nodded as he wrote a note down. _I honestly can’t tell if I’m more turned on or confused by this…_ Sena thought to himself.

“Sca- no. No, Sena, please, no,” Shin said suddenly, face serious and eyes _pleading_. “I can’t do this.” Sena blinked and looked down at the list.

“ _Oh my god, no!_ ” Sena burst out, face white. The utter relief radiating off of Shin was _palpable_. He struck off the option with a vindictive little scratch.

“Somnophilia? Oh, like, sleeping se-” Sena broke off in the middle of his epiphany, words slamming into babbles.

“Sex, Sena.” He sounded almost _weary._

“This, um, I’m okay with this. Would you be okay with this?” Sena asked, ignoring Shin’s huff.

“I prefer you awake.”

Sena snorted painfully. “I wouldn’t mind _waking up_ to this,” Sena tried again carefully.

Shin stared at him, brain whirring. “ _Ah_. Yes.” Whatever he’d thought up had him checking it a second later.

_Should I be laughing or worried about that?_

“Hm, sounding. I saw this mentioned but I don’t think I understood the translations. This wasn’t on the list I gave Takami. It turned up in some of the articles he’d printed for me, however.”

“Ta-Takami-san s-saw this?!” Sena shrieked. Shin nodded.

“The librarians wouldn’t help me. Could you look this up for verification?”

Sena grumbled under his breath, ears burning, but pulled up a search engine on his phone and dutifully typed it in. “Oh, look, a video!”

He hit play and they waited for it to load. A second later, their jaws dropped and both were blanched bone-white.

“Turn it off, Sena,” Shin ordered brusquely, physically recoiling away from the screen.

“I am! I’m trying! The ads keeping popping up and- there! It’s gone! Oh my _god_.”

“ _Why would someone do that_?” Shin demanded, _horrified_. Sena fishmouthed and shook his head, looking just as shaken.

“Just no. Scratch it out. _No_.”

Shin quickly did so, movements wooden and jerky. “Temperature play.”

“Like, hot versus cold?” Sena asked, grateful for the change in topic. _So grateful_. He was going to have nightmares over that video. Also, he was pretty sure his phone had a virus now. Crap.

“From what I saw, there was using ice and hot wax? Not hot enough it actually burns, though.” Sena still grimaced at the idea.

“I… I don’t think I’d like that. And not just because of the wax. Rubbing ice all over me doesn’t sound fun. I hate being cold.”

“I don’t think I’d like this either.”

“So, no. What’s next?”

“Toys.”

Sena immediately pictured a teddy bear, then his favorite action figures as a kid. Then, after rolling his eyes and reminding himself _this is about sex, Sena, not those kinds of toys!_ he thought about it a bit more, biting his lip.

“Uh, yeah. There’s some things I’d like to try. I’m just… I’m too embarrassed to go out and _buy_ them. And I didn’t want to order anything online to my _parents’_ house or to my _dormitory_ , you know?” Sena confessed with an awkward laugh. Shin nodded seriously.

“Some of them had a very strange appearance, but most I could see the appeal of. We could look for some together and you can order them to arrive here?”

Sena blushed, but couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. “Yeah, I’d like that. I might have a mini-heart attack during the actual _looking_ part, but I’d like that.”

Shin checked it, mouth twitching at the corner.

“Well, we’ve gotta be almost done. What’s left?”

“Just two. Voyeurism and watersports.” Shin’s eye twitched over the last one.

“Water sports? That actually sounds fun,” Sena said guilelessly picturing shower sex or even beach sex or something. Romantic and very sexy, in Sena’s opinion. Shin always looked so good sweaty and damp. They’d already proven that wall sex wasn’t a hardship, either. Shower sex was a huge favorite in the few erotica Suzuna had forced him to read.

Shin's noise of surprise and _pain_ had Sena pulling out of his fantasies with a startled frown.

“Seijuuro?”

“S-Sena, what do you think… that means?” Shin asked, choking out the words.

“L-like… sh-showers or a p-pool or...?” Sena hesitantly replied, wondering just why Shin looked so betrayed. Shin dragged a hand over his face, sigh rough and long. “N-No?”

“No. Sena, it’s… it’s urine.”

Sena gaped at him.

“Like… I pee on you?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes, that _is_ what it means.”

“No, I don’t _want that_.”

“Thank you.”

“Why did you even put in on there?! Or the other one?” Sena demanded, aghast and utterly flummoxed.

“In the interests of full disclosure-”

“Seijurro, let me make this very clear,” he forced Shin to meet his eyes. Very serious eyes. “ _I do not want to do what I do on the toilet on my bed_. Literally or figuratively.”

Shin looked away, hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking.

“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!? This is VERY serious, Seijuuro!”

“Y-yes, I know. I-I a-agree.”

“ _You’re laughing_.”

“It’s n-nothing.”

“Fine, we’re done.”

“You didn’t say yes or no to the other one,” Shin said, mouth still twitching at the corners as he turned back to Sena. Who was glaring at the opposite wall, arms crossed and blushing cheeks puffed slightly.

“I can’t remember what it was.”

“Voyeurism.”

Sena blinked, offense sliding away as he rolled the term over in his head. “Voyeurism? Like… watching other people?”

“No, me watching you.” Sena felt shiver run down his spine at _that_ tone of Shin’s voice. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around, though, hands tightening into fists under his biceps. “We could do it the other way. But I _know_ I like watching you.”

“Y-yeah?”

“I always like watching you.”

“That should be creepier than it is,” Sena breathed out. His eyes slid shut as Shin placed calloused fingers to his jaw line, sliding over soft skin and making Sena shudder.

“Says the man who can’t stop staring when I’m training without a shirt on,” Shin pointed out, amusement clear in his tone. Sena bit his tongue. He had no idea Shin had _noticed that._ “I would like to sit back and watch you one day. I wouldn’t even need to touch myself. I would just watch you.”

“W-Would you-” Sena broke off, biting on his lip just shy of too painful, cheeks ruddy.

“Would I what?”

“W-Would you tell me what to do?” Sena whispered.

Shin’s fingers went still and Sena heard his breath too loud in his ears. It thundered with his heartbeat and his hands dropped to his lap, curling into the loose, soft fabric of his sweats. He couldn’t bring himself to look up yet. Not with the heat already surging in his stomach and the embarrassment lighting up his face.

So he didn’t see the way Shin’s eyes went dark. Or way his hand holding the list clenched convulsively, crumpling it in his fist thoughtlessly. Sena didn’t see the way Shin’s eyes scanned down his profile, lingering on his bitten-red bottom lip and white-knuckled hands.

“Would you do exactly as I told you?”

Sena jumped slightly, his heart jumping into his throat with him, belly twisting into coils.

“Y-yes.”

“Right now?”

“Right now? Like, _right now_ right now?” Sena repeated, eyes wide as he finally looked up. Shin’s face, his intensity burning into Sena’s astonished gaze, had that coiled heat burning. His mouth went dry at Shin’s nod and he could already feel his cock jump in his pants. “Yes, right now.”

Shin got up and walked towards the desk. The small confused noise that escaped Sena at the abrupt action had him blushing brightly, humiliated at the needy sound. But Shin didn’t leave. He merely pulled out Sena’s desk chair and sat down, legs a little wide and hands on his knees. The list was lying forgotten on the desk behind him.

“Take off your shirt.”

Sena grabbed the hem, belly and groin hot at the low-pitched command. Gradually, he pulled the shirt up and over his head. It wasn’t quite _smooth_ , his nose getting caught and the sleeves catching around his elbows, but it dropped to the ground long, heavy seconds later. He licked his lips and looked over at Shin.

“Sit back against the headboard.” Sena shuffled back, heels slipping over the comforter and hands reaching for his sweats’ waistband. “I didn’t say take off your pants.”

The words were whipped out, fast and sharp. Sena’s eyes closed tightly, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth while shudders went down his spine. “Show me where I left my marks, Sena.”

“O-okay,” Sena whispered, one hand trailing down his chest, lingering over what was left of Shin’s hickies- darker on his torso than what was left on his neck, where he thumbed leisurely. His eyes flicked over to Shin, breath catching, as Shin leaned forward, hands still on his knees. He seemed to be drinking in the picture of Sena splayed out on his bed.

“You’re doing such a good job for me.” Sena felt his cheeks flush, pleased he’d done well, the compliment like a caress over his skin. “You can touch yourself now. Over your clothes. I want you to pretend like I’m not even here.”

“Th-that’s a little difficult. I think I can _feel_ you looking at me,” Sena quipped past trembling lips even as his hand slid down his belly and touched his cock that was tenting the loose cotton of his pants obscenely. He hissed between his teeth when he palmed his erection, hips twitched up into the pressure automatically.

“Is that a complaint?” Shin asked quietly. Sena shook his head. “Say it out loud.”

“No. No, it’s not. I… I like it.”

His gaze skittered away while Shin’s mouth tightened, fingers gripping his knees that much harder. Sena gratefully sunk into the feeling of the heel of his palm pressing down, thumb pressing into the side of his neck, imagining Shin’s mouth and hand in their place. His head knocked against the wall, lips parting around a harsh pant. The wall behind him skidded against his skin as he slid down, knees rising to better his leverage, grinding up into his hand faster. He could still hear Shin, the quiet creak of the chair when he shifted, the occasional too loud breath he couldn’t quit hold back.

“That’s it, Sena. You look beautiful when you're like this.” Sena bit down on his lip trying to hold back a whimper. Shin shouldn’t sound like that; low and raspy praises that had Sena’s heart stopping and thudding too fast a second later. “I like the sounds you make. Don’t hide them.”

“B-But M-Monta-kun-”

“Don’t be too loud, just loud enough I can hear you. Can you do that for me, Sena?”

Sena gulped and nodded. “Y-Yeah.” His hand moved a little faster, a little harder, the chafing of cloth against his dick fast becoming painful, but too good to stop. The quiet pants whistling past gritted teeth gave him away, however.

“You can take them off now. Slowly.”

Sena’s eyes shook as he glanced over at Shin. Who of course looked utterly serious. He really hoped Shin wasn’t expecting, like, a strip tease or something. Because Sena couldn’t do that. He took a shuddering breath, though, and hooked his thumbs in his waistband. He had to arch off the bed a bit, thighs and stomach burning- still fatigued from practice that morning. The elastic band of his underwear caught on the head of his cock, making it slap against his pelvis and his breath to hiss on the back of his teeth while he shimmied his hips enough to get his clothes down far enough to kick off hastily. When Sena settled down again, he was mostly laid out over his covers, shoulders braced awkwardly against the headboard and his hand already on his erection- angry red from friction and blood, the foreskin already rolled back and the tip shiny with slick.

“You’re perfect,” Shin whispered. Sena looked over, blinking, when Shin got up. “Don’t stop, you were doing so good. I want to just see up close how much you’re enjoying this.” The bed gave up his weight and Sena pressed his face against Shin’s hip.

“I-I want you to touch me,” Sena whined softly, biting down on his lip as his hand jerked too hard. A hand lay over his stomach, his abs contracting at the sudden contact.

“I’m right here. How do you like to do this? Do you wet your hand? I want you to feel good, Sena.”

“I… I have lube,” Sena admitted, gasping into the soft cloth of Shin’s track pants. The hand on his belly jerked, fingertips pressing into flesh for a brief moment.

“Do you only use it for _this_?” Shin asked quietly, thumb brushing the brownish, shapeless blotch below Sena’s belly button. Sena shook his head wordlessly, sweat beading his forehead, hips jerking up into his still moving hand. His thumb swiped over the slippery head of his dick in time with Shin’s thumb on his stomach and the tremors running down his body were suddenly more like  _shaking_. “Tell me what you use it for.”

The demand had Sena moaning under his breath, mouth pressed to Shin’s hip to muffle the sound. “I… I tried to…use my fingers. _In_ me,” Sena confessed, eyes squeezed shut and hand slowing, feeling the edge coming up too fast. Shin hadn’t said he could yet. He’d _promised_ he’d do exactly what Shin said.

“That’s why you want to try to have sex like that. You’ve already tried it by yourself.” Sena nodded, nose bumping Shin’s thigh clumsily. “You can show me.”

“Wh-Wha?” Sena gasped, blinking sluggishly and staring up at Shin.

“I want you to show me.”

“O-Okay,” Sena stammered. “It’s in the drawer, I have to-”

“I’ll get it. Touch yourself there now, while you wait for me.”

“B-but-”

“I promise I won’t ask you to hurt yourself. Just touch yourself there,” Shin murmured, thumb rubbing circles into Sena’s hipbone now.

Sena bit his lip, but nodded and reached down with his other hand. He had to set his heels to the bed and arch up his hips to reach well enough, dry finger sliding over the sensitive strip of skin between his balls and hole, making him gasp. But the feeling of his fingertip, rough and calloused, brushing over his entrance still dry, had him groaning throatily out right, hand tightening around the base of his dick and his gaping mouth pressing to Shin’s thigh. It felt even more sensitive this time, maybe because he was already on edge, his nerve endings on fire and every sense heightened by the weight of Shin’s gaze on him. His hips jerked up higher, thrusting into the clammy grasp of his hand and shoving back on the pad of his finger as he shakily circled and rubbed over the bundle of nerves there. Like every time he’d tried it before, it wasn’t quite enough, the _need_ for something causing him to press a little too hard, pushing the tip of his finger past the tight pucker as he panted and gasped louder.

“S-Sei, Sei, I need to-”

“I’m here. You’re doing so well, so perfect, Sena. Take it slow, I’ve got you,” Shin soothed, hand stroking up and down his belly. Sena let out a small sob, arms quivering as he pumped his dick faster, spreading the dripping precum down the length and up again.

He could feel Shin moving, hear the sound of something rattling, but Sena’s eyes were glued to the bright white of Shin’s pants. Watching, but unseeing, at the growing patch of damp cloth beneath his mouth. His body jerked, air hissing past wet lips and finger sliding deeper into him, when something cold and slippery dripped over his cock.

“Hold up your hand,” Sena whined when he pulled his finger out, hips falling to the bed as if strings had been cut, but he held out his hand. “That’s it. You’re so good, Sena, perfect for me. Just like you promised.”

Sena whined once more, this time with a dopey smile on his face, breath rapid and shallow.

“I know you want to go fast, but you can go slower. For me. So I can watch you enjoy your hands and your fingers in yourself.”

“Y-yes, yes, I can,” Sena huffed desperately, wanting Shin to tell him how good he was again. How perfect he was.

He loved it when Shin was proud of him, always shad been. His eyes blinked open- when had they closed- and he searched out Shin’s face. Because he _had to see it_ , that look Shin had for _Sena_. Whenever he proved Shin right, exceeded his expectations, ran that much faster, won just one more goal. Now those dark eyes gazed down on him, proud and pleased for _this_. For doing just as Shin asked to make himself feel _good_. He bit down on his lip and smoothed his now-wet fingers over his hole again, teasing just the way he knew Shin wanted. Drawing it out to drive him that much closer to the edge.

“C-Can I… Can I have more?” Sena begged. Something shocked and hot flashed through dark brown eyes, but Shin merely nodded. Sena moaned in satisfaction, even though his wrist was stretching almost too far, angle off and uncomfortable. He was something he was sort of familiar with, and he did, without really thinking, what he normally would- braced his feet fall against the bed and rocked into his hand.

The hand on his belly stroked up and down his skin, soothing and warm, making him shiver and his own grip on his steadily leaking cock to match the same rhythm. Shin’s figners slid through the puddle of pre-cum on his stomach carelessly, his gaze still locked with Sena’s. His face was a little blurry, vision going hazy as his eyes fought to stay open. Fiercely opposing urges to sink into the feeling of his own hands or drinking in the amazed, almost hypnotized look on Shin’s face had Sena’s breaths whistling high and tight, eyes fluttering shut and open again.

"What does it feel like, Sena? Is it just your fingers, or do you imagine they're  _mine_? That it's me pressing into you and making you feel this good."

"It's you, you, _Sei_. Your hands... s'big. I wan' your fingers, Sei. I love y'r hands," Sena rushed out, words slurring. 

“An-Another finger,” Shin said harshly, eyes glued to the too-fast jerking hand between Sena’s shaking thighs.

“I… I’ve only d-done one,” Sena exhaled on a moan.

“You can do it for me, because I asked, Sena,” Shin murmured softly. “I’m just going to help you feel good.”

“K-kay,” Sena nodded, middle finger pressing against his hole. His body felt strung too tight, a string on a guitar strummed too hard, but still achy, desperate, for some relief he couldn’t reach. How could he still feel empty when he was clenching so tightly around just one finger? A hand, something hotter than even his own, wrapped around his own on his neglected erection. A low, keening cry escaped him, quickly smothered in his pillow and Shin’s hip, hips thrusting up into the tightened grip, falling onto his fingers slowly, perfectly. Both fingertips popping past the rim of his entrance. He didn’t hear the too rough exhale above him. He was too busy panting heavily, harshly, rocking faster and erratically, frantic at the feeling of his and Shin’s hands on his dick and the feeling of pressure getting deeper and deeper than he’d done before. He didn’t know when the high-pitched breaths became words, pleadings interlaced with broken syllables of Shin’s name, but Sena couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when his thumb was pressing to the hypersensitive skin just behind his sac, pushing just hard enough to make the thrusting of his fingers inside him even more intense, the somehow making him feel _tighter_ , every ridge scraping at the inside of him.

He could barely make out Shin’s sotto baritone encouraging him, _that’s it, beautiful, Sena, Sena, perfect_ , as if _Shin_ had lost control of his own words, uncaring that they were repetitive and unnecessary. Not that Sena was much better, not with the increasingly louder, stuttered moans and shouts against Shin’s leg, eyes squeezed shut and mouth slack. He was _so close_ , but he- he _promised_.

“ _Please, please_ , S-Sei, Sei, can I- I have to-” The shudder that wracked through his body had his balls drawing up tight, the faint thickening and swelling of his cock pulsing beneath their entangled fingers. Fingers he convulsively tightened, crying out weakly even as he tried to stave off the inevitable.

A hand, sticky and wet, brushed through sweaty hair tugging just enough to tip back Sena’s head.

“Look at me, Sena,” demanded a too-harsh voice. Or just harsh enough, because he was blinking open bleary eyes, mouth twitching up at the corners when he saw how flushed and _gorgeous_ Shin looked above him. Lit up and outlined by late afternoon sunlight. Eyes fixed on _Sena_ , as if the tableau laid out before him was enthralling, _spellbinding_ , not _just_ _Sena_ seconds away from losing his mind.

“S-Sei…” he breathed, tone beseeching and needy.

“Just like this, eyes on me, just me. Come like this, Sena,” Shin murmured, his thumb hooking just behind Sena’s ear and rubbing sweet, absent-minded circles into his skin.

It took just another stroke or two, mouth gaping and eyes wide and unmoving from Shin’s, before Sena felt the white-hot release punch straight through his belly. He was spilling over their joined hands, over his already messy belly. Coming so hard, the hot splash of it hit his chest and his legs turned to jelly. His fingers were pulled out of him too fast, leaving him gaping and empty and catching a sob against his teeth, legs splayed wide and careless. Jizz slid down the sweaty skin of his side, probably to muss his covers, but he was too wiped to care, eyes half-lidded and hands too disgusting to prevent it anyway.

“W-Wow,” Sena croaked, throat dry and tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth, when breath and vision finally returned to normal.

“Mm,” Shin agreed wordlessly, hands combing through Sena’s thick hair. “I’ll get you water and a towel. Don’t move.”

“W-Wait, y-you… your…” Sena stumbled over the words, more sated and lethargic than timid in this instance.

Shin raised any eyebrow. While he did have a reaction to Sena's... performance, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He’d been so busy caring for _Sena’s_ pleasure, watching him enjoy his own body’s responses, that Shin just hadn’t given his own physiological responses any heed. “I care more about what you need right now. I’m fine.”

Sena’s nose wrinkled, somehow managing to look adorable and _debauched_ at the same time. His eyes, pupils still blown wide, trailed down, only to jerk back up again- his natural courtesy keeping his gaze on Shin’s face.

“You... you don’t need to…”

“Sena, I can say with every confidence that I understand what the term _sexy_ means after this,” Shin said firmly, nipping that bit of self-depreciation in the bud. A pleased flush worked its way over Sena’s cheeks bones, barely noticeable with the post-orgasm blush still making his summer-tanned skin glow. “I just don’t find it necessary to find my own release. I’d rather take care of you. Do you really want to attempt any movement right now?” Shin asked pointedly, his hand gesturing towards the puddles and splashes over Sena’s torso.

“I… I think I’d like to not have to wash my covers…” Sena concurred with a wry grimace and an embarrassed huff.

Shin got to his feet, ignoring the twinge of discomfort of his half-hard dick in tight briefs, and bent over to press a kiss to Sena’s forehead. The sweat there had gone cold, and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant sensation on his lips, but the low, contented hum from Sena at the endearing gesture made it worth it.

“I’ll run you a bath, too.”

“You’re too good to me,” Sena sighed happily. Shin’s expression was serious, even though his mouth had softened.

“Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anal Sex: Topping & Bottoming  
> Asphyxiation  
> Biting/marking  
> Bondage/restraints  
> Collars  
> Coming Untouched  
> Crossdressing/[Panty Kink/Lingerie Kink]  
> Docking  
> Oral Fixation  
> Orgasm Delay/Denial  
> Prostate Stimulation/Orgasm  
> Public/Semi-Public Sex  
> Rape-play/fantasy; noncon/dubcon  
> Rimming  
> Scat  
> Somnophilia  
> Sounding  
> Temperature Play  
> Toys  
> Voyuerism  
> Watersports
> 
> Firstly, these are NOT my personal opinions of some of these kinks (most notably, I fucking love panty kink/crossdressing OOooo and collars!). These are my personal headcanons for how THESE TWO CHARACTERS would view these things. They are NOT MEANT TO BE KINK-SHAMING. I don't care what kinks y'all have. (Dudes, I'm from Sterek fandom. I've read Xenophilia.) If it's done sane, safe, and consensual, then all to the good, have fun and fuck anybody else's shaming. Just remember, these boys are 1) basically virgins, or as I like to say, sex-newbs, 2) for different reasons relatively uninformed of sexual things so these things are NEW AND SHOCKING to them (Sena admits to watching porn, but he doesn't watch it often, nor even has a variety, and Shin has only seen the occasional porn in the pursuit of RESEARCH, not to get off LOL), and 3) if you don't wanna be shamed for your kinks, the other way works, too; sometimes people are just not going to like things and there's NOTHING wrong with that either!
> 
> I'm terrible at dirty talking/praising apparently? I fucking love to read it, but nothing felt RIGHT when I tried to write it. It doesn't help that Shin ain't much of a talker, damn it. I think the actual sex part is good, but fuck words, y'all. (I just proofread, I think it's better than I thought during the process of? ehhhh???)
> 
> Lastly, there's a lot of POV switching and narrative written solely for humor’s & ease's sake, rather than making any sort of attempt at artistic, well-written, or consistent prose. In other chapters, I would encourage and appreciate being called out on this so I can improve. But not for this chapter, please and thanks and I hope you enjoy.


	5. Trips: Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thick, warm arms wrapped around Sena’s narrow waist. And it was good. So good. A tiny peck of a kiss fell on the crown on his head and had Sena’s smile glowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How often are road(train)trips? What is their ideal vacation? Do they shower/bathe together? If so, how far does anything go? 

“This was too expensive.”

Logically, Shin knew that _probably_ wasn’t the reaction Sena was looking for or hoping for. But, _also_ logically, he knew the state of Sena’s finances. He knew the amount of money he made and how many expenditures he had per month- bills and rent and groceries that Shin had never had to bother with in his life. With that, Shin knew how little his family could supplement his income and tuition fees (most of which were paid for by scholarships and Enma was a fairly cheap school, true, but there would always be extra necessary fees). Shin hadn’t paid attention to money really, not until he’d started dating Sena and noticed _Sena_ counting yen coins and chewing his lips to bleeding over the cost of his books. He had never felt guilty over his own wealth-- that would be absurd.

That didn’t mean the price tag on his birthday gift didn’t cause him considerable consternation.

Sena fidgeted and rubbed the back of neck. “Yeah, it was-- almost. But when I was brainstorming ideas with Ems, _she_ went behind my back and got everyone who came to visit to pitch in a little and wire it to me. She said it was a thank you, from everybody, for letting them stay at your house for free pretty much the whole time they were here. They only had to pay for rooms during the three days they went to Kyoto, you know? Even that was discounted because your mother called ahead and made the reservations herself. You went out of your way to help them out and, well, they wanted to give a little back.”

Shin blinked in confusion. “It wasn’t a hardship.”

“And neither was this. They’re our _friends_ , it’s what friends do,” Sena pointed out with a fond smile. He reached out to grasp Shin’s wrists; his hands were still holding the train tickets. “I wanted to do something special for you. To show you how much you mean to me and to spend time with _just you_. No one else. You were so great about my friends coming to visit, and I _know_ you’ve been worried about our schedules next year-” Shin felt his eyebrows shoot up. He’d had no idea Sena had noticed. He must’ve spent one conversation too many frowning over Sena’s and his own choice of courses. “- so let me give you this. Well, me and our American friends who wanted to give you a thank you gift somehow anyway.”

Shin glanced down at the train tickets one more time, and then unfolded the reservation confirmation page Sena had printed from the internet for their rooms. “Three days, just me and you?” Shin said finally.

Sena’s face lit up, grin so wide Shin wondered if it ever _hurt_ to smile like that. He fervently hoped not, because it was one of his favorites.

“Yeah, three whole days and two nights. It’s a really beautiful onsen, with a rec room, and there’s an old temple nearby with a _thousand_ stairs, so we can train there, too, because I know you’ll want to. It has a bamboo forest with trails to jog on up there. We’ll have such a great time, I promise!” the shorter man rambled on, getting more and more excited as he went on. Even his eyes were shining, body fairly vibrating with enthusiasm.

“I never had a doubt I’d enjoy it,” Shin said bluntly, mouth twitching slightly at Sena’s resulting blush. He shook his head then while folding up the paper and handing them all back to Sena. “I spent most my life not caring one way or another about my birthday. They’ve always been pleasant, but you’ve made them _fun_. You’ve always done that.”

Sena spluttered, face beet-red and smile shy. “It’s just… I wanted to… make you happy…”

“I am very happy. Thank you,” Shin promised. Both hands cupped Sena’s face, pink cheeks warm against Shin’s palms, and he leaned down for a lingering kiss that had Sena sighing happily after. “Let’s discuss travel plans so I can go home and pack.”

* * *

 

Sena scrambled to grab the last of what he’d need. Scramble being the key word because he really didn’t want anyone to walk in and- His door banged open, bouncing off the wall, and Suzuna, Riku, and Monta all crowded in. With a jerk of his arm, he zipped his bag shut and sat on his bed, trying not to groan. The looks on their faces did not bode well.

“Please, could we not do whatever this is? Seijuuro is going to be here any minute.”

“Pah, as if. He’s as punctual as an automated clock. We have about twenty-two minutes, depending on the subway,” Riku retorted, flopping on the bed and leaning back on his hands. Suzuna perched on his desk, feet swinging. Monta threw himself in Sena’s desk chair, legs straddling the back and twirling a few times, while grinning  _wickedly_ in Sena’s direction.

“I’m not gonna like this…” Sena muttered.

“Not a bit!” Monta cackled.

“But it’s for your own good, Sena. We’re only here to help,” Suzuna added in a very patronizing, haughty manner even as her eyes twinkled mischievously.

“I don’t need help-”

“Please, last time Riku had to throw a condom at your _forehead_. Of course you need help,” Monta snorted.

“At least he might actually use one any time soon,” Riku drawled. Monta threw an obscene hand gesture that had Riku smirking. “Look, we all know you and Seijuuro have been getting…” he trailed off with a strained-looking frown.

“ _Adventurous_!” Suzuna supplied happily.

Sena felt himself whimper. “This is what dying feels like,” he whined.

“Suck it up, buttercup. You think I wanna talk this? Cuz I _max_ don’t,” Monta deadpanned, cheeks rather ruddy. Riku and Suzuna choked on snickers.

“Then, _don’t_! Please, I- me and Seijuuro both can do this _without_ your help, okay? We’re adults.”

“Yeah, adults whose only sexual experiences are with each other. Sometimes some outside advice is necessary. Sex between two gay men-”

“ _Is_ Shin gay?”

“I just thought he was Sena-sexual?”

“It’s _demisexual_ , actually. Ems showed me-”

“-SEX BETWEEN TWO GAY MEN,” Riku repeatedly loudly over the three ex-Devilbats, eyebrow twitching with annoyance. They all winced and looked back at him. “Is a lot more difficult than straight sex if you’re ready to go that far. You can’t just go ‘oh the moment’s right, let’s go’. That leads to a lot of fucking disaster.”

“Was the pun intended?” Suzuna whispered to Monta, making him snort loudly.

Sena winced and grimaced. “Rikku-kun, _I am gay_. I _know_ that. I mean, theoretically. I did a lot of research and I talked to people online, too. Not to mention, me and Seijuuro _actually_ have talked about it before.”

Riku looked rather mollified and none too little impressed. “I didn’t think you could just talk about it yourself. Can you trust the people online, though? The internet is a sick place, Sena.”

Sena sighed, shoulders slumping. “Yes, Rikku-kun. I made sure to talk to more than just one or two. It’s a lot easier online instead of face to face. Like _now_.”

His friends just grinned unrepentantly back at him.

“So, you know a bit,” Suzuna said with a wave of her hand. “That doesn’t mean you’re _prepared_. You need… _supplies_ , Sena. Like the oh-so-caring and responsible baggie of goodies yours truly gave you last year that you _chucked_ back at me the next day!”

“I thought Seijuuro was asexual at the time! _And I never asked for that!_ ”

“You didn’t lose that _one_ box of condoms that we actually went and bought, did you?” Monta asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Sena sweatdropped.

“Why would I do that?! They were _expensive!_ I know I need  _stuff-"_

“I think we’re missing an obvious question, though,” Suzuna interrupted. When all three men had eyes on her, she looked at Sena very seriously. “Are you sure you _want_ to have sex with Seiji-kun? Like _real_ sex- _sex_?” she asked, her cheeks just barely flushed. Sena groaned like he was really dying and dropped his face in his hands.

“She’s right. If you don’t want to have actual _ass-fu-_ ”

“STOP! Just STOP right there!” Sena exclaimed, hands flailing, as Riku leaned back and raised his eyebrows at being interrupted by _Sena_. “Look, guys, ah- just. First, what me and Seijuuro do is really _not your business_. And it is _real_ sex, wherever p-penises do or do not go, okay?” Sena snapped with eyes not quite meeting theirs, but expression stern.

Suzuna had to resist the urge to clap. “Okay, point to you,” she settled with, nodding magnanimously.

“I really appreciate the lack of details in that sentence, Sena,” Monta said with heartfelt sincerity.

“Is there a third point?” Riku asked, actually curious.

Sena gulped, dropped his face into one hand, but unzipped his bag. Just to dig out and drop on his bed, in full view of everyone, the travel-baggie with certain _supplies_. There were two different bottles of lube, a whole sleeve of condoms, and few other things that showed just _how_ prepared Sena was.

“We haven’t really talked about doing it… _now_ , but I got it all. Just in case,” Sena mumbled, still hiding his face in his hand.

Dead silence rang through the room. A pin could’ve dropped with an echo. Then, Suzuna snorted and quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. Monta sputtered, red-faced and forehead thunking to the back of the chair. Finally, Riku tipped back his head and _laughed_. Everyone quickly followed, even Sena was snickering behind his hand, having come out of ‘hiding’ at last.

“Just look at our baby, all grown up and ready for some serious man-on-man sexcapades. I’ve never been more proud,” Suzuna teased as she caught her breath and wiped at her eyes. Sena’s face flamed, eyes on his hands while he quickly shoved everything away.

“I’m a little weirded out by the _our baby_ part,” Riku replied dubiously.

“I’m _max_ weirded out by the _everything_ part,” Monta grimaced. "Sorry, man, I just don’t wanna think about you and _any_  sexcapades."

Sena managed a tremulous smile. “I’m very relieved to hear that, Monta-kun. Can this unnecessary intervention be over now?” he begged plaintively.

“MAX YES!” Monta exclaimed, already swinging off his chair and heading for the door.

Suzuna pouted, but sighed and got up to leave. Riku clapped Sena’s shoulder, and followed her out a second later. Sena stared down at the duffel bag innocuously sitting on his bed, belying the not so unremarkable contents. Thoughts of the weekend ahead, of the choice he’d made, swirled in his head in a way he hadn’t allowed it to before now. Whirling and spinning around his brain to focus into the single, concentrated, anxious thought of: _what would Seijuuro’s choice be_?

The doorbell rang throughout the small apartment a much too short time later. Three wickedly gleaming eyes turned towards him where he now sat on the couch. Sat and sweated profusely, truth be told, with hands clutching at his knees and his bottom lip all but shredded. He stumbled to his feet, bolstered by the break in teasing from Monta for his patented genuinely reassuring grin and double thumbs-up. Suzuna hissed and slapped at the receiver’s shoulder while Riku deadpanned a boo and kicked lightly at Monta’s ribs. Monta shoved at Suzuna lightly but kicked Riku off the couch completely.

“I wasn’t nervous until _you guys_ decided to have an _intervention_ ,” Sena seethed in their direction as he swung his duffel over his shoulder and got to his feet shakily.

“You love us anyway,” Suzuna chirped smugly.

Sena rolled his eyes heavenward, mouth moving silently, but he didn’t actually disagree.

Popping up from behind the low table, Riku folded his arms over the tabletop and lay his chin on his arms before saying, “But really, Sena, have a good time.” Sena blinked over at him. “You and your boyfriend deserve a break from… _everything_ for a while. Whatever happens or doesn’t, have a good time,” Riku advised sincerely.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Sena replied with a soft smile.

Suzuna glanced over at Riku with an odd expression on her face, but Sena was already going towards the door. Shin had been waiting at the door long enough, in Sena’s mind, and he never noticed the strange, silent battle of expressions Riku and Suzuna were engaging in behind his back. (Monta was already back to watching the TV.)

“Bring me back something good! By good, I mean candy or cookies!” Monta tacked on hopefully just as the door opened to reveal Shin.

Whose eyebrows were raised incredulously over his usual scowl.

“Why would we buy you gifts for my birthday,” Shin stated brusquely.

The other two in the apartment cackled at Monta’s dramatically crestfallen face. Sena waved goodbye briefly and snapped the door shut in relief.

“Let’s get going. _Fast_ ,” Sena pleaded heartily.

Shin let himself be herded towards the elevators, expression now mildly curious. “Did I get the time wrong?” he questioned rather dubiously, as if he couldn’t believe it even as he said it.

“Huh, what?” Sena asked, just as bewildered as Shin sounded. Sena had never known Shin to ever get the time for something _wrong_. Be misled, lost, or have unexpected delays; but such incidents were never due to an error on Shin’s part about the time. Shin obviously knew that.

“You rushed us out as soon as you opened the door. I thought I might be late.”

“Oh!” Sena’s eyes widened and he huffed a rueful laugh a moment later. “No, nothing like that. They were just being _them._ I didn’t want them teasing me in front of you.” Especially not if one them could let slip about the… the _preparations_ Sena had gone through.

Shin’s expression cleared, nodding. “I see. We’re on time then?”

“Yes, of course. How could we be anything else with you at the helm?” Sena laughed.

“I like being punctual,” Shin agreed easily.

Once outside Sena’s building, it was a simple and quick (for them) jog to the nearest subway station. There was an hour long ride to the correct train station- involving a change over and another subway- and another hour after that to get to the onsen Sena had reserved. While Shin had never been chatty, and it would honestly freak Sena if that changed, Shin got slowly more and more withdrawn the longer the trip went on. Sena, who was a bundle of anxiety and anticipation, basically vibrating and tongue-tied with nerves (but not the bad kind of anxiety, not really), didn’t notice right away. He was too accustomed to filling in Shin’s silences after all. There were updates of their respective families and friends, confirming their definite fall semester classes, his plans for his third year and advisory meeting just a few days before the new semester, which slowly devolved into the newest videogame he and Monta had gone halfsies on. He was detailing just how _awful_ they were at it when he noticed Shin’s taciturn answers had become downright monosyllabic bordering on grunting by the time they got to the shinkansen station, the last leg of the journey. Sena eyed him warily and worriedly, the pale, almost greenish sheen to Shin’s face becoming clearly apparent when the high-speed train pulled up in front of them and they boarded. They put up their bags and took their seats, but Sena was still eyeing Shin carefully. His jaw was clenched tightly, every muscle bulging just under the thin skin, his face ashen and green and his eye riveted outside the window. Sena reached over the distance between their knees and clasped Shin’s hand.

“Hey, you okay? Should we get off and call Hoshino to get back home?” Sena asked softly, leaning forward to speak quietly and still be heard.

Shin shook his head, lips thinned and the usual pink flesh white. With a quiet scoff, Sena got out of his assigned seat and took the as yet empty seat next to his obviously uncomfortable boyfriend. He even paused to lift the armrest between them up and out of the way so he could scoot in close. A small grunt was the only verbal response to Sena’s movements, but the tension in Shin’s shoulders seeped away as his eyes shuttered closed. The runningback slipped his fingers between Shin’s, interlacing them to squeeze. The linebacker tightened his grip on Sena’s and had the smaller man smiling. He awkwardly, one-handedly, put his earbuds in, lay his head on Shin’s shoulder, and spent the rest of the trip humming quietly and holding Shin’s hand through low groaning and heavy nose-breathing. They finally made it to their destination and Shin was one of the first passengers off.

He wasn’t quite so green as _white_ as a sheet by then. He’d also grabbed both their bags when he’d booked it off, clutching them close in white-knuckled grips. He hadn’t even waited for Sena to catch up- which said a lot because Shin was ever the polite one and Sena was always the faster one these days. Especially when it came to crowded places where it wasn’t socially acceptable for Shin to blaze a path down the middle and where Sena could cut through easily. Socially acceptable was not the phrase of the day, however. While the tall college junior breathed in slow and deep the fresh, but heavy summer air of the countryside, Sena disembarked and made his way over to lay a hand on the middle of Shin’s silently heaving back. His dark eyes opened slowly to search and find Sena’s gaze, and the shorter of the two smiled reassuringly.

“Better now? Caught your breath?” he asked in some concern.

Shin nodded once. “I was hoping to not be so affected. On the way back, I’ll take Dramamine.”

“I should have thought to take some out before we left Tokyo,” Sena muttered with an annoyed frown at himself. Shin shook his head.

“It was entirely my fault. I decided not to bother since a train ride is never as bad as a bus. I miscalculated how much the long journey would affect me. Let’s head on to the reservation before the day is ruined,” Shin replied dryly as he handed Sena back his bag.

Sena snorted derisively at the mere idea of it. He caught Shin’s hand in his the moment they turned together towards the exit. “I can’t imagine you ruining my day.”

Shin’s eyebrows rose up high, but shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly a moment later. “You could never ruin my day, so I suppose the reverse is true,” he surmised. Sena’s burning ears matched his flushed cheeks.

Subtlety? Shin had all the subtlety of a brick to the face. A romantic brick, but a brick nonetheless. 

Sena hailed a cab, glancing towards Shin’s darkly frowning face. It was easy enough to snag a taxi, and Shin insisted on paying. Sena let him, not wanting to aggravate the man who was clearly _not_ looking forward to more rapid motion that wasn’t his own two feet. Fortunately, the onsen wasn’t far from the shinkansen station. Sena made a mental note of the directions to walk/run it when they returned, since Shin was obviously doing the same—however _Shin’s_ sense of direction could be… faulty. They pulled up outside the onsen- a beautiful old-fashioned building that tourists adored to put in blogs- and Shin pulled out a giant roll of yen that had Sena and the driver’s eyes bugging out. Completely oblivious, Shin carefully separated a 5000 yen note from the rest and handed it over.

“Uh, this is too much,” the driver protested, too polite to just pocket it. Or maybe just too baffled by two normal looking college kids and a wad of cash their simple clothes didn’t mesh with.

Shin frowned, patience thin. “It’s customary to tip the driver.”

“Let’s just- it’s okay, just take it. C’mon, Seijuuro,” Sena interrupted when the driver opened his mouth to argue that taxis _did not take tips_. Not in _Japan_. He yanked Shin out of the taxi and politely waved the taxi away. “I think the first thing we need to do is take a bath and relax in the hot spring until you feel more settled. Sound good?” Sena suggested, a hand on Shin’s arm as they ducked through hangings of the entrance to the onsen.

“Yes,” Shin concurred. _Fervently_.

Sena hid a guiltily amused smile at the tone.

 

Bathing in public houses, with other men, with his teammates even, had never been _awkward_. Not really. Not even in Deimon when he started realizing his tendencies to fantasize over other men’s bodies more than what boobs felt like. His teammates at Deimon had always been like _brothers_ more than _boys_ , and by college, he’d just gotten _used_ to keeping those observations to himself and his gaze in more polite places. (He had gotten very good at eye contact because of it, actually.) But now, the onsen’s bathrooms were of course segregated by gender (and became co-ed out in the hot spring) and the only other man in the shower area was, well. _His boyfriend_. Any other time they’d been _naked_ together meant, well, non-teammate sort of situations. He was allowed to let his gaze linger in non-polite places and fantasize about just how nice _all of that_ felt under his hands. But it had him squirming uncomfortably and desperately thinking about vomit- the obvious first gross thing he could think of.

He dropped his washcloth into his caddy and blurted, “I could wash your back?”

Shin grunted, forehead pressed to the damp tile in front of him and fists braced above his head. Sena gulped and kept his gaze on Shin’s back. 

Taking up the still soapy sponge, Sena _hyperfocused_ on the motions of his hands innocently dragging up and down Shin’s back. Anything to keep his attention from wandering again.

“You feeling any better? Should we call it an early night?” Sena asked, one hand reaching up to rub gently at the base of Shin’s skull. Shin groaned under his breath, body drooping in response.

Sena felt pleased and dry-mouthed at once.

“You don’t need to do that for me,” Shin muttered lowly.

“This whole trip is for _us_. Don’t tell me what I need to do to capitalize on that,” Sena pointed out, almost offended.

A hoarse, rasping sound met Sena’s ears before Shin peered over his shoulder at Sena’s _not_ pouting face.

"I just don’t want to waste your first night or our friends’ money. I’ll be fine by dinner,” he told Sena firmly.

The runningback’s mouth twisted up to the side and he reached for the bucket to pour clean water over Shin’s back. “If you _don’t_ feel better, that’s okay, too. I’d only planned on a night walk around the area, we could always do that tomorrow instead. I’d rather you feel better than force yourself to get their money’s worth when they’re not even here.”

“We’ll see,” Shin said vaguely. Sena rolled his eyes _discreetly_ and sat back on his heels.

“I wanna soak in that hot springs now. C’mon, before all the the other guests come back from town or wherever they are,” Sena prompted as he stood and collected his things.

“I should wash your back?” Shin asked.

Sena shrugged, ears burning. “I’m fine. I was moving faster than you.”

“Ah.”

The hot spring was definitely exactly what they both needed, pleasured sighs escaping them as they sunk into the steaming, slightly cloudy water. Sena sunk to his chin, eyes closed and legs floating just beneath the surface. He peeked through his damp lashes and the curling steam to see Shin leaning back against the lip of pool, arms on either side, fingers dangling just over the surface of the water, and his chest mostly bare to the summer air. The sophomore slipped even further down, cheeks flushed and nose beneath the surface. How could Shin still look so good even when looking like death warmed over from nausea? The man was impossible.

A hand reached out, curled around the back of his neck, and dragged him over stone. Sena squeaked in shock, choking and sputtering water, before slapping his hands to Shin’s chest and gasping for air. Shin’s raised eyebrow and dark eyes _oozed_ amusement at Sena’s expense.

“You _startled_ me,” Sena grumbled, cheeks even redder at the way his legs were pressed so close to the side of Shin’s thigh.

“I haven’t gotten a really good look at it. Last time I was… busy looking elsewhere,” Shin said. Sena frowned at him in confusion, until a warm, wet hand trailed over his chest in a very specific pattern. His brown eyes widened and he laughed at himself.

“I totally forgot about that. I healed so fast and amefuto hasn’t started up yet, so no one’s really seen it yet,” Sena explained, looking down at the red and black ‘21’ tattoo. Shin’s thumb carefully traced the stark outline, face unreadable. “I thought you didn’t like it.”

Shin shook his head. “I wasn’t upset about the tattoo itself, I told you that.”

Sena sighed. “I _know_ , but I didn’t really _know_ , I guess. You never mentioned it again, and I figured it was a sore spot for you.”

“I like it. Now that I’ve gotten a good look at it.” Shin’s mouth pulled up to the side slightly while Sena gaped incredulously. “What was it my mother said? Red’s your color?”

Sena was pretty sure he was gonna faint with the hot temperature of the water _and_ his avid blushing.

“Well, uh, good, ‘cuz it’s too late now,” Sena croaked.

Shin ducked his head to actually rasp out that chuckle of his, and Sena’s belly swooped in victory. He placed his hands on Shin’s arms and leaned forward on his knees, the line of his whole torso pressing against Shin’s side now to place his lips to Shin’s temple. A small, shuddering sigh fell from Shin’s mouth, and Sena- emboldened- dragged his mouth down to kiss the side of the linebacker’s mouth.

“How’s your stomach?” Sena murmured as his hands smoothed over damp skin and lines of lax muscle of Shin's shoulders and arms.

“Better,” was the simple response before large, callused hands gripped Sena’s hips over the soaking wet towel and tugged him closer.

Water rippled, but didn’t quite splash, as Sena swung his leg under the surface to straddle Shin’s lap. He kept most his weight on his knees, his butt just barely resting on Shin’s thighs, and delicately pressed small kisses to Shin’s cheeks, to the faint lines on his brow, back down to his jaw and the hollow behind his ear. Thumbs rubbed the jut of hipbone over Sena’s towel and something warm and daring curled up in Sena’s chest.

“Sei… t-tonight, or tomorrow if you want, but I want to… I want to do the first thing on the list.”

Shin frowned, lazily half-lidded eyes opening more to meet Sena’s steady gaze. He was already gnawing on his lip, but he didn’t look away.

“Why do you sound so serious about taking a walk?” the linebacker asked, baffled.

Sena blinked. “Oh! No, not a list for _this place_ , I meant- uh. The _other_ list. The-” Sena closed his eyes and tried not to wobble as more blood rushed to his head. “The sexual one, Seijuuro.”

The hands on Sena’s hips froze, grip going tight and then relaxing. “I… I didn’t bring anything for ana-”

Sena slapped a hand over Shin’s mouth. “I get it, I’m an adult and I want to do it. But give me credit for saying sexual without flinching and _don’t use that term in a public bathhouse_ , please, oh my god,” Sena babbled frantically. Shin’s brows lowered over his nose. “I just can’t take you saying _that_ when we’re both naked and in _public_ , okay?”

Shin slowly pulled Sena’s hand away, revealing the mocking tilt of his mouth. “It’s not exactly public _at this minute_ , Sena.”

“It’s still _public_.”

“You brought it up.”

“Yeah, _subtly._ Just- oh my god, Sei, yes or no,” Sena mumbled, dropping his head on Shin’s shoulder and groaning. Arms wrapped around Sena’s narrow waist and the chest under his hands shook silently. It took too long in Sena’s opinion for Shin to collect himself.

“If you really want to, I agreed to try. What should I… do?” the question was hesitant and had Sena rearing back up, eyes wide.

“N-Nothing! I’ve got it. Really, just… if you ever wanna stop, you have to tell me, right? That’s the deal?” Sena reminded him, eyes darting over Shin’s face, searching for any sign of discomfort. Shin nodded.

“As long as you promise the same.”

“I do, yeah, of course. Wow, we’re… we’re actually gonna do this,” Sena breathed out as the anticipation of earlier returned with a vengeance. Bemusement spread over Shin’s features.

“You... really want to do this.”

“Yes, I mean, _yeah_. Especially since… last time…” The blush burned from his hairline to his collarbone and Shin’s eyes heated in remembrance. “I just… think I’d really like it…” Sena murmured quietly, eyes dropping to Shin’s throat. “And… I really want it to be with you. I know we can wait, but I don’t _want_ to, I really feel ready now.”

“Then, we’ll not wait.”

Shin made a movement to get up and Sena yelped and flailed his hands around. “I didn’t mean _right now_. We’ll wait until bed time, Seijuuro! There’s timing issues to think of, okay, just pretend I didn’t say anything for now!” Sena squawked and Shin frowned. Though this time, it looked more like a pout. Sena’s head dropped back to Shin’s shoulder as he laughed helplessly.

Even though they stayed in the spring and soaked for a while longer, they didn’t quite _relax_ again after that. A palpable, excited kind of tension fell over them, thrummed between them, and the sounds of guests talking and bathing inside the building, getting ready to break into their solitude, were almost a relief. Sena slipped away from Shin’s hold with a fleeting brush of lips, and they both hoisted themselves out of the hot springs to dry off and dress. It wasn’t until Sena was finishing up tying his _kaku obi_ and turning to grab his shower supplies that he caught sight of Shin and realized something very important.

Shin was wearing a yukata, too.

Sena stopped dead, eyes wide and mouth parted in shock, while staring at Shin step into simple _zori_ sandals, shower caddy under his arm, and yukata worn all too easily on broad shoulders. Like Sena’s, it was an elegant grey, faint lavender hatch marks on the thin cotton, and a shiny black _kaku obi_. Clutching his damp things close to his matching yukata, he stumbled his way towards Shin who was waiting at the hangings patiently.

A warm, broad hand brushed his flushing cheek and lingered over his forehead. “Did we stay too long in the springs? Are you feverish?” Shin asked in some concern.

“N-No, no, everything’s a-okay,” Sena replied with words tumbling over themselves and hands waving wildly in front of him. After a slightly too long moment, Shin gave an imperceptible shrug and led the way out of the changing room.

Sena had never considered himself the subject of a ‘raging libido’, but things change when you date the man of your dreams, apparently. Because the runningback spent the majority of the rest of the afternoon keeping said ‘raging libido’ in check. But it was _so hard_ (oh crap, oh _god_ , no pun intended!) with Shin in a yukata, looking relaxed and …and… _leisurely_ in a way Sena rarely if ever saw. The closest would be the few times he’d seen Shin coaching those community center kids. It definitely didn’t help that Shin’s ‘yes’ hung in the back of Sena’s mind- a constant itch he couldn’t scratch away (yet). He talked Shin into an early dinner and an evening walk ( _No, Seijuuro, just a walk, we’re in yukata and zori!_ ) around the onsen grounds. His hand felt clammy and damp clasped in Shin’s as he mentally counted down the hours, but Shin either didn’t notice or didn’t care; his rough-palmed and dry hand stayed securely around Sena’s the entire time. A long (way too long) and intense ( _way too intense_ ) game of ping-pong, with almost every other guest as a spectator complete with gasps and applause, carried them into the early evening hours. (He also could’ve sworn he’d seen money exchange hands, but maybe he’d spent too much time around Hiruma-san…) Sena managed to smuggle away for privacy a few times. The sophomore was walking towards their shared room after one such private moment, stomach feeling very empty and hoping no one could see the embarrassment written clear across his face. He slid open the door with a muttering announcement of his return, only to stop short and smile.

Shin was leaning against the window, a book in hand and a small tray-table with tea, biscuits, and other snacks laid out near him. “An evening snack, really, Shin-san?” Sena teased as he settled across the table from Shin. Shin set his book aside with a quirked eyebrow.

“I only asked for the tea.”

Sena snickered and reached over for a cracker to nibble on. It did a lot to soothe his roiling belly, anyway, as did the calming scent of tea that Shin expertly poured.

“You’ve been disappearing all night.”

Sena squeaked and blushed beet-red. “I d-didn’t think you noticed earlier.”

“The last two hours you spent grimacing and holding onto your stomach. _Are_ you feeling sick? We can return to Tok-”

“No!” Sena interrupted fiercely and loudly. Shin actually started enough to splash some tea on the tray. “S-Sorry, just… no, it’s… I’m not sick. I promise. I was just…” Sena scrunched up his nose and looked away. “I’d rather not go into detail, but I’m fine.”

Shin frowned and set the teapot down. “This last disappearance lasted almost an hour after you  _ran at full speed_ away.”

Buying time, Sena blew over his cup of tea and sipped at it with pink cheeks and ears. Shin continued to stare unrelentingly, hands clasped on his knees and eyes dark. Sena released a loud, low breath and set the cup down.

“If you’re honestly worried,” he trailed off hopefully, and sighed when Shin nodded. “I was… you… you said _yes_ , Seijuuro. I was… I’ve been getting ready, that’s all. I know how you feel about it all and I didn’t want to… involve you in the _before_ details, oaky?” Sena mumbled, running his finger around the rim of his cup and slouching a little.

A blank uncomprehending gaze was Shin’s response. Sena slumped a little further. “About what we talked about. In the springs,” he whispered.

Understanding finally dawned on Shin’s face and this time he was the one looking away.

“Ah.”

Sena peered up from under his hair and noticed the flush to Shin’s ears. He ducked his head to hide the wobbly smile on his lips, fingers fidgeting awkwardly and hips rocking side to side restlessly. How could this be so… _awkward_? It wasn’t like they were virgins anymore, they just bathed naked with very few problems! Why was getting started on _this_ so different?

 _Well, it shouldn’t be_ , Sena thought to himself resolutely. His jaw firmed and he got to his feet. Shin looked up at him as he came around the table, face inscrutable. With a bracing, silent gulp, Sena fell back to his knees- wincing a little when he fell too fast onto the tatami mats and wooden floor beneath- and inserted himself very securely onto Shin’s lap. He fisted his hands in the front of Shin’s yukata, expression determinedly set, even while Shin’s hands were still aloft and his eyebrows high in surprise.

“Did you want to drink the tea now or after we have sex?” he asked bluntly and a shade too quickly. It took everything in him not to stammer, but he didn’t. His heart rabbited against his breastbone and there was a tremor in his knees, but he was sitting already and his heart always beat too fast around Shin. Easy enough to hide the effect of his own words.

Warm callused hands cupped his cheeks and every bit of tension in him melted with a sigh. Sena’s eyes fluttered shut just before Shin’s breath fanned over his mouth, every nerve alit and the tremor from his knees  _everywhere_.

“After.”

Sena grinned and a second later they were kissing. They’d kissed  _so many times_ , natural sweet kisses with little thought behind them even. Those simple brushes of lips over skin of comfort and thoughtlessly ‘happy-you’re-here’ presses to whatever bit of flesh they could reach- hands, foreheads, cheeks. There were kisses like those in the hot springs, too, of course. There was something more urgent and more _hesitant_ at the same time in this moment. Unsure, but also eager- like those first kisses. Sena slid his arms around Shin’s neck and pressed closer, their bodies a line of heat separated only by the thin cotton of their yukata. He pulled away just enough to lay a kiss to Shin’s cheek and whisper reassuringly,

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. We can stop any time.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” Shin asked dryly as his hands smoothed down Sena’s back like he would to a cat. (Was it weird that Sena arched into it, humming under his breath?)

He was shaking his head with a huff, though, fingers slipping through Shin’s hair. “I may be the one… receiving, but I’m also the one more interested in it. So, you tell me if you really don’t like it and we’ll do the stuff we _know_ we like. Or nothing at all! That, too! We don’t have to- at all! I mean, I _didn’t_ mean-” Sena yanked himself away to meet Shin’s eyes, babbling in his panic and eyes wide. Shin’s mouth twitched and he got to his feet with a low grunt, bringing Sena with him. “I am _not_ a princess! …this is better than picking me up from under my armpits like a large cat, but I don’t appreciate being carried around like a princess, either.”

“Either this or over my shoulder. Like a sack of footballs.”

Sena scowled. “Point.”

Shin snorted and knelt at the already laid out futon. Sena slithered out of Shin’s arms, just to twist around and drag Shin down over him. Their mouths met, wetter and hotter, as hands scrambled at folds of cotton and the thick knots of the _kaku obi_ that slipped under their fingernails. Noses bumped, humid breath gasped between their slack mouths, almost too focused on blindly unwrapping the other to remember to keep up the movement of their lips. Shin yanked at Sena’s _obi_ so quickly when he finally managed to get it undone that Sena almost spun onto his stomach at the motion. He laughed against Shin’s armpit, gasping and wriggling to get free while Shin grumbled.

“You’d think these would be easier to get out of,” Sena joked as Shin sat up on his knees to all but tear his yukata off.

“Not accustomed to them,” Shin retorted, almost grunted really, before tossing the offending article clothing at a wall with a solid _thwack_. Sena had to press his hand to his mouth to keep from guffawing. His other hand he used to reach up and pull Shin back down. The heady, electric feel of bare skin on skin had them exhaling soft and low, bodies sliding in a sweetly familiar motion. He twisted silky black hair in his fist and smoothed his palm down Shin’s side as Shin ran his hands down Sena’s thighs and pulled up his knees. They rocked together for few blissfully easy moments, eyes half-lidded and words replaced with involuntarily moans. The drag of Shins’ cock along his, the ridges of his stomach that the head of his erection thrust against, was so _good_ , when he was already so keyed up, it had his plans falling out of his ears.

But not for long.

“Wait-wait, the… my bag. Where’s my bag?” Sena mumbled, reaching out and smacking along the floor. Frottage and grinding was great and all, but he was _not_ going to put all that preparation to waste, okay!? His duffel slid over the tatami and Shin pushed it into Sena’s grasp. “Thanks. I have… I have condoms, too. I thought you’d like to- even though we’re both- we’ve only been with each other, I thought you’d rather use those?” Sena said questioningly as he dug into the duffel bag awkwardly.

Shin grunted an affirmative sound and buried his face in Sena’s neck, hot mouth and blunt teeth trailing down the skin. “Good idea,” he managed to say roughly.

“I should-ah-” Sena froze, plastic-y zip bag crinkling in his tight grip as Shin began to mark his throat. He should probably stop that, but…he shuddered while the heat of Shin’s mouth pulling and sucking at his skin went straight to his aching dick, still trapped between their bodies. Whatever he ‘should do’ went out the window, and the bag in his hand fell from lax fingers at the sharp sting of a bite. He didn’t even blush at the utterly wanton groan that escaped him, his hands already buried in Shin’s hair to tug him closer, neck arching to the side to bare more skin.

Hands slid down Sena’s torso, calluses catching on the sensitive peaks of his nipples, then down over his belly to dig into the sharp points of his hips and the sides of his ass. Shin held his hips up off the futon, making the angle even easier to thrust, the sensation exhilarating and maddening at once thanks to the lack of any tight grip around where he needed it most. He might’ve protested, or attempted to sneak a hand down himself, but Shin’s mouth was moving away from the most likely bruising neck to his chest. Shin paused a heartbeat, then his lips trailed over Sena’s skin in a strange, but consistent pattern, and it took way too long for Sena to realize that was- that was his _tattoo_. He turned his head enough to look down and see Shin trace the stark black lines, then drag the inked skin into his mouth, teeth pressing just shy of too hard. Sena’s hip bucked up and his head fell back. It was purely psychosomatic, he was sure, but it _felt_ more sensitive there. Every nerve ending on fire and all the while, their hips still rocked, off pace and growing more desperate. They were going to chafe, or cum, and Sena didn’t know which would be worse at this point- especially when Shin’s mouth moved to the nipple just next to the tatt and laved his tongue over it before biting just hard enough to have him thudding his head back solidly.

“ _Oh my god_ , Sei- _Sei_ , this is- we have to-” Sena pleaded, even as his hands slid down Shin’s shoulders and dug into the thick muscle of his back. Anchoring himself as his mind blurred.

“What.”

“Huh?” Sena muttered stupidly, blinking rapidly at the sudden loss of Shin’s mouth on his skin.

“What do I need.” The question was bitten out, a little too harsh thanks to breathlessness. Sena swung out his arm, snagged the bag, and smacked it against Shin’s head. The linebacker blinked in befuddlement and Sena’s eyes widened.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to do that!” Sena exclaimed, sitting half up and reaching for Shin’s face.

“Fine. We… need all this?” Shin asked, scowling and brows low as he stared at the admittedly (mostly) full bag.

“No, no, not all of it! Not all at once!” Sena hurried to tell him, all but ripping the zipper off to open it. “Just this and… uh… this one? It’s hard to see, but I think this is the condom safe lubricant?” Sena squinted at the bottle he held. His face was still flushed, his hair a sweaty mess stuck to his forehead and one cheek, and his nose was scrunched up while he squinted, and Shin was rubbing his face with his hand and sitting back on his heels with a long-suffering groan. Sena blinked over at him, grinning when Shin reached over and flicked the lamp on. “Thanks! Yeah, this one! I’ll… Do you want me to… do this part again?” Sena asked, squirming and rolling the bottle between his hands.

“You can start,” Shin said slowly, waiting until Sena met his eyes. “I’ll finish.”

Sena felt the blush on his face burn all over his body until it felt like steam whistled from his ears. “O-Okay. I should… um… be on my stomach…” he told Shin, thumbing open the bottle with a click. Shin frowned and Sena quickly continued, “It’ll be easier. Later. If we do… if we go the whole way like we planned, for a first time, it’s easier if I’m on my stomach.”

Shin was still frowning, but not quite as darkly, and he nodded a second later. Sena swallowed audibly, turned over on his knees, poured the clear gel over his fingers, then reached back to press the first finger to his hole. His clenched his eyes shut tight, not really in that same headspace he’d been in the last time Shin had watched him do this, not yet. He felt Shin shift to kneel behind him a second before his big, warm hands smoothed over the cheeks of his butt, spreading them wide and watching silently. Sena gasped into the thick futon when the first finger slipped in, just the tip thanks to the strange angle. It made his arm shake and wrist burn, but his back arched as he slipped further in.

“You look different here.”

Sena gasped at Shin’s thumb running along his hole and down his perineum.

“I… I shaved. A little,” Sena confessed, cheeks burning. He bit down on his bottom lip as he tried a second finger, maybe a little too soon. It ached a little, but he’d done this enough times by now that it didn’t really _hurt_. Not just two fingers so slick with lube. His breath was coming out harsher now, his fingers moving faster. He had to fist his free hand in the sheets to keep from reaching down to jerk himself off.

The tentative press of Shin’s thumb beside his fingers, pulling him further open, had Sena moaning into the padding. It took all his willpower not to push his hips back onto Shin’s thumb, not to beg for him to please _please_ help because this angle was hell on Sena’s wrist and he needed _more_. He wondered for a second if he’d actually said it aloud anyway, because Shin was pressing inward, slipping in along Sena’s slicked fingers and making the smaller man cry out harshly and his hip stutter back.

“YesyesyesSeiSeijuuro, please-” Sena urged, voice muffled but obviously desperate. He almost whined when the extra pressure, which had gotten so much deeper than his own, disappeared, only to be replaced by Shin’s finger, longer and somehow lubed- wait, when did- Sena shuddered and both hands dug into the futon as he rocked back on Shin’s finger, and then second finger. Shin moved again, his chest pressed against Sena’s back, and his breath on the back of Sena’s neck.

“You should’ve told me,” Shin whispered hoarsely, his lips tickling the middle of Sena’s back. Sena couldn’t form words, just a questioning noise that became a quiet moan when Shin’s fingers sunk in so much deeper. “How much you wanted this. I knew you liked doing it to yourself,” Sena whined and hid his face, breath catching and quick, stuttering sounds clattering past his teeth as the rhythm of Shin’s hand and Sena’s hips sped up. “How long have you waited for me to say yes to this?”

Sena whimpered and shook his head. Shin’s hand stilled, his other hand holding Sena in place so he couldn’t fuck himself back anymore. “Wha-why, _Sei_.”

“How long, Sena?”

Sena panted into the bed, dizzy with the blood rushing to his cheeks. “Since… since- I dunno. I… I used to… think about it a lot,” Sena stammered, groaning into the padding when the fingers pulled almost all the way free and a third finger pressed along his rim.

“Sena. How long.”

“H-high school,” Sena squeaked. Shin froze along his back and Sena buried his face in the sheets. “Ithoughtaboutyoudoingthisinhighschool.” He cried out in shock when Shin’s hand pulled completely away. “S-Seijuuro?”

“I can’t- not like this,” Shin choked out against the curve of Sena’s spine.

Humiliation and shame curdled in Sena’s belly. “I-I’m sorry, I sh-shouldn’t h-have s-sai-”

“No, not that. Sena, no. I just… not like _this_. I need to see your face,” Shin’s words were actually rushed and… almost frantic? His slicked fingers slipped on Sena’s sweaty skin and he tried to turn Sena around. “I can’t… I can’t _see you_ , Sena.”

“Oh!” Sena scrambled to turn away, flailing a little too much until he was on his back, chest heaving and Shin’s arms caging him in. “I didn’t even think-”

“You said it’d be easier- I didn’t want to-” Shin spoke over him, eyes wide and pupils blown. He looked _wrecked_ , and Sena reached up to touch Shin’s cheek (with his clean hand, he’d barely remembered not to use the other one, thank god). Shin’s eyes shuttered closed and he turned his face into Sena’s palm.

“This is about us _both_ , remember? If you don’t like something, you tell me. I want you to enjoy it, too. And I like…I like that you want to see my face. I really like that,” Sena whispered, a dazed sort of smile on his face.

Shin frowned a little and opened his eyes. “Of course I do.”

Sena grinned wider at that and slung his arm around Shin’s shoulders to tug him down into a hungrily demanding kiss. His licked along Shin’s bottom lip, then delved into his mouth, tongues sliding over and around the other, dragging out slick, sucking sounds that sounded too loud and wet in the small, bare-walled room. There was a distant snap, but Sena ignored it, too busy mapping out the shape of Shin’s lips with his own. He realized what it must’ve been when Shin placed his fingers back between Sena’s legs and slowly sank into him with only a little resistance. Sena sighed through it, nails digging into Shin’s skin, not quite breaking skin. A moment later, Sena was gasping out hitching breaths, hips moving with the thrusting of Shin’s hand, legs trembling as he raised them to lock around Shin’s waist, his heels at the dimples on his lower back. His face was probably a blotchy tomato red, and his mouth sloppy with spit and wide open around his moans, but he was looking up at Shin, gaze never wavering from the darker one above him. His lashes fluttered when Shin’s fingers spread him open a little wider, and his eyes flew open wide when Shin thrust in deep, deep enough to have Sena biting down on the pad of his thumb to keep from hollering as something was pressed against the rough tips of Shin’s fingers. But his surely blown-out eyes never strayed from Shin’s.

“N-Now, now, please,” Sena pleaded. Fighting the urge to jerk off and cum was becoming close to impossible, his cock heavy and straining in the air, bobbing at the rocking movement of his body as precum streamed from the tip into a sticky pool on his belly. When he looked down, Shin didn’t seem to be that far behind, his erection flushed red and tip pearly. Sena’s eyes closed briefly on a wince as Shin pulled his fingers free. Sena squirmed, feeling empty and _weird_ , wondering if he was as gaped open and raw as he felt.

Shin reached down with shaking hands to roll on the condom, and Sena quickly helped. Harsh, grunting breaths were punched out of Shin as Sena smoothed the condom down, marveling at the slick greasy feeling of the lubricant on rubber and the way Shin’s covered cock jumped in his hands. Slowly, experimentally, Sena stroked up and down, imagining what the loose-ish folds of the latex would feel like _in_ him, thumbing at the loosest bit at the tip.

He squawked in surprise when his hands were abruptly pinned to the futon at either side of his head and Shin was puffing hoarse, too fast breaths.

“Hands. There.” He ordered tersely. Sena nodded, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Or worse, moaning at the strength pinning him down and Shin’s devastated control.

Shin stared down at their groins, and Sena helped by lifting up one leg even higher, knee at Shin’s shoulder. Shin gave Sena a suspicious glare, then released one wrist to wrap his hands around Sena’s thigh, just under the back of his knee. The swift, sweet kiss to Sena’s knee had him closing his eyes, heart thudding and too large for his chest, and he missed Shin grippng his dick and leading himself to where Sena had been so carefully prepped. His obliviousness didn’t last long when the blunt, wide head of Shin’s cock pressed against his hole. He wriggled his wrist until Shin’s grip loosened enough he could slip their hands together, and his one free hand he combed through Shin’s hair.

“It’s okay. Just go slow, and it’ll be fine,” Sena murmured. Shin nodded and did as Sena said.

Slowly, _too slowly_ , Shin sank into him centimeters, millimeters, at a time, until Sena wanted to grab Shin’s ass and just pull, because surely glaciers moved faster. But it was Sena’s first time doing this and he didn’t _want_ to tear something, or traumatize Shin who was obviously worried something like that was exactly about to happen. Instead, Sena buried his face in the curve of Shin’s throat and shoulder and breathed, focusing all the tension in his fingers entangled too tightly in Shin’s hair. Hipbones met the curve of his butt and a shudder raced down them both, otherwise frozen and wheezing. Shin’s hands on Sena’s thigh and hand convulsed too tightly; it felt like a signal. _All signs point to ready set go_ \- no… that wasn’t right… whatever. Sena bit down on his lip and moved cautiously, hips pulling back minutely. Shin groaned into Sena’s hair, hands gripping tighter and Sena’s eyes were so wide they felt dry.

So he did it again. Faster, a little farther, legs shaking and breath punching out of him in some sort of moaning whimper sound he was _definitely_ gonna be embarrassed about later. It felt strange, _it did_ \- like being too full, like he was fighting against what his body wanted to do naturally-, but it also felt like his own fingers, like Shin’s, only _more_. He braced his hand on the futon under him to support his movement easier, slowly setting a rhythm but getting faster. Then, Shin _moved_. Bore his weight down on their joined hands, pushed Sena’s leg closer to Sena’s own ear, and _moved_ his hips.

Sena didn’t even realize his mouth was moving until the words hit his ears. Babbled encouragements, husky gasps of Shin’s name, and just mindless, unnecessary _yesses_ that hissed between his teeth painted the sweaty-slick skin of Shin’s chest and neck. Salt burned Sena’s shredded bottom lip and he really wasn’t _that_ flexible, but it didn’t matter when he figured out how to move his body in time with Shin’s and it was like-

When they ran. Everything moving in synchronicity, fitting together and oh so perfect. It was messy and the sounds- the slap of skin and the squelch of lube and rubber, the soft punched out grunts Shin let out with every forward thrust, and the throaty cries that were forced out between senseless rambles from Sena- were bordering on embarrassingly gross. But Sena was intoxicated. Wishing for more, for this to never stop. He tugged at Shin’s hair, caught the fleeting sight of Shin’s flushed, sweaty face and dilated eyes, and slammed his mouth over Shin’s.

Every grunt and groan was poured into Sena until his head spinning and tongue thrusting in Shin’s mouth almost in time with their hips, losing pace at every juddering moan he made. As if he couldn’t stand to have his hands still, Shin let Sena’s hand go to bury it in thick brown hair gone almost back with sweat and dropped Sena’s knee in the crook of his elbow to surge forward, pinning Sena flat on his back under all of Shin’s weight as the taller man returned the wild kiss. The sudden change in position, the way Shin somehow managed to sink in even deeper, harder, right up against that bundle of nerves, had Sena shouting into in the kiss, body going tight- tighter- around Shin buried to the hilt. A rasping, almost guttural moan wrenched out of Shin as his hips jerked into Sena’s body once, twice more and then stilled. Leaving him panting fast and hot over Sena’s mouth.

“S-Sei? Seijuuro?” He wriggled a bit and Shin- was that a whimper?

“S-Sena. Wait.” The distress in his tone had Sena freezing as the bigger man took deep, calming breaths. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Sena asked in confusion, still hovering on a knife’s edge of _need_ and vibrating with it.

Shin balanced on an elbow and reached down, his knuckles brushing Sena’s stomach, then past where Sena thought he was aiming. To grip at the condom and slowly pull free, making them wince and grimace.

“N-No, wh-why, you didn’t have to yet,” Sena blurted. Shin shook his head as he tied the condom and tossed it in the bin nearby. “Sei, I ki-kinda-”

“I know,” Shin told him with a swipe of gentle hands over his belly and hips. Sena blinked in confusion. Only for his eyes to widen when Shin followed his hand down. The same moment Shin’s hand slipped behind his balls and pressed back inside where Sena was still loose and slick, his mouth went down over Sena’s neglected and downright painful erection. A short scream was stifled behind both hands clapped over Sena’s mouth and only Shin’s hand holding him down kept Sena from moving. Either up in the gloriously wet heat of Shin’s mouth or back onto his fingers, Sena didn’t know. Nor would he, pinned down and boneless as he was. Rough fingertips found that spot again and Sena was sobbing out breath, back bowing. Shin’s technique was a little… fast, suction too hard, tongue heavy and almost too still, teeth catching on a fold of skin, but it was perfect. It took the work of moments for Sena to see stars instead of the ceiling as he fell apart at last. When he fell back down, Shin’s mouth was still on him and his fingers in him, and it felt too good, the kind of good that quickly became unbearable. He wriggled and pushed at Shin, but still whined at the loss of his mouth and fingers.

“skay, too much,” Sena slurred at Shin’s face hovering over his. “There’s thingies in my bag. That bag bag.”

“Thingies?”

“For cleaning. Look at the bag.” Sena started to push himself up on his elbow, but Shin gently pressed him back down, hand splayed wide over his chest. A loving mimicry of the Trident Tackle that had Sena giggling a little drunkenly while flopping onto his back.

Rustling sounds followed by the distinct sound of a zipper proved Shin had found the bag. Shin picked up the hand that was still a little sticky from lube residue and wiped at it diligently, the ‘thingies’ being the pack of towelettes Sena had put in the prep bag. _So smart_ , Sena thought contentedly with a dopey smile on his face as he watched Shin be… _Shin_. After Shin was satisfied Sena was clean enough (for now), he perfunctorily wiped his own hands.

“I love you.”

Shin glanced up, startled. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“You’re supposed to say-”

“I love you, too.”

Sena sighed happily and snuggled into his pillow. Shin stared down at him, face clearly showing the struggle between fondness and frowning.

“What is it, Sei?”

“We should take a shower. Right?” Seijuuro pointed out, eyes a little squinty.

“Mm, probably. But that can wait. We had the thingies-” he waved a limp hand at the towelette pack. “The rest can wait. I want…” Sena forced his eyes up to meet Shin’s. “I want you here.” He patted the empty space on the pillow.

A soft snort answered him. Shin threw away the used wipes and settled down next to Sena pulling up the blankets as he did, both on their sides and looking at each other with half-lidded eyes. A long quiet moment passed of them just _looking_ , curled up just close enough for knees to touch.

“You’re… okay?” Shin murmured worriedly. Sena smiled wider and took that as an invitation to clamber onto his boyfriend, tucking his arms under Shin’s and their legs tangling under the blankets.

“Yeah, we did good. I’ll sore a little bit tomorrow, but nothing hurts,” Sena assured him, rubbing his cheek on Shin’s broad chest. He could feel it beating against his ear when he stopped moving.

Thick, warm arms wrapped around Sena’s narrow waist. And it was _good_. So _good_. A tiny peck of a kiss fell on the crown on his head and had Sena’s smile glowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS CHAPTER?! DO. YOU. *BULLBREATHING* Anyway! I finally cranked it out. Of course, finishing and getting the majority done between 11 pm and 3 am. CUZ THIS IS MY LIFE. Also, it says Day 1, becuz, yes, there IS MORE PLANNED. I was gonna do it all in one chapter, but I really just want to post this, my dudes. It's been too long since I've posted and I NNEEEEEDDEEEDD TO WRITE THIS. So, here you go! I hope you're looking forward to what's coming on Day 3 (Day 2 will be a couple filler paragraphs and onto Day 3, because my smol bae will be sore, so he needs time to recuperate, okay?)
> 
> I hope I have slaked TEH THIRST for another two months, pfft.
> 
> BTW, tipping taxis in Japan is not customary. But since he has a family driver, when does he ever use taxis? When his family is abroad and he's seen his dad throw money at people, duh. Secondly, 5000 yen is like 50 bucks. The taxi ride was really short and probably wouldn't be more than a couple hundred yen? maybe 1000? I don't know typical Japanese taxi rates, but in Korea and China both an equivalent to 50 buck ride is, like, a 40 minute drive at LEAST. Dude basically got paid 50 bucks for a ten dollar ride, lol. And yes, I know most hot springs don't allow the people to wear towels into the springs, BUT SOME DO, OKAY. THAT'S WHAT MANGA HAD SHOWN ME. I distinctly remember ladies wearing towels in hot springs in manga. And if it happened in manga, OBVIOUSLY, it's real. They're at that kind cuz I say so.


	6. Trips: Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last excerpt of Trips. 
> 
> “Today was great right? You like your birthday trip?” Sena murmured. He caught Shin’s hand and threaded their fingers together, resting their joined hands on the futon between them. 
> 
> With a minute shake of his head at the folly, Shin lowered himself down to lay across the futon facing Sena. “That is a ridiculous inquiry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Favorite sex positions? 

He came to slowly, thumb stroking up and down absently over the smooth ridges of abdominals, nose buried in thin, soft hairs that tickled his nose. His body felt heavy and restless at the same time, and opening his eyes took _work_. Everything was so warm and smooth and _good_ , that he had to claw his way to waking. Waking to see Sena curled into the curve of his body, eyes still closed and breaths even in sleep. His mouth had fallen open, but most of his body was curled up close, loose fists on the pillow and knees pulled up. Outside the sun was just beginning to burn through the dawn fog. The silence of the early morning was a blanket over the entire onsen, Shin couldn’t even hear the shuffle of the staff yet. It was the perfect time to get up and go for a long run, work the restless energy out while burning out the lethargy in his legs and arms. But he hesitated a moment longer, gaze arrested on Sena’s profile, arm tightening minutely around his waist.

He stilled immediately when Sena’s slackened features twitched, brows contracting and mouth frowning slightly. His body shifted, twisting until his shoulder thudded Shin’s chest and his eyes fluttered open.

Groggy brown eyes blinked up at him.

“Go back to sleep,” Shin murmured, reaching up to brush hair from Sena’s eyes.

Sena snorted lazily and tucked his face against Shin’s collarbone. “Don’ tell me whaddado,” the runningback slurred irritably. Only to immediately sigh back into sleep.

Shin scoffed under his breath and pressed a kiss to Sena’s forehead. He’d get up in just a moment. He didn’t want to _actually_ wake Sena up not after… The hand he’d been stroking leisurely up and down Sena’s back froze. Flashes of sensation of the night before crowded his head, leaving his skin feeling flayed open and too tautly fitted simultaneously. Gradually and ~~painfully~~ carefully, he extricated himself from the warm tangle of limbs to get to his knees off to the side of the futon. Ignoring his own nakedness, he reached over to re-tuck the blankets around Sena’s bare shoulders, huffing slightly when the smaller man hummed happily and twisted himself into a roll of blanket so that only the top of his forehead and his hair showed. It was surprisingly just as difficult to break his gaze and get to his feet as it had been to get out of bed.

He obviously needed a long run and a little perspective.

.

The run did Shin good. The familiar pump of adrenaline, and the sweat running down his face and back were grounding. Centering his focus in the here and _now_ rather than on the most likely still slumbering man in their shared room and bed. Rather than thinking about the night before and remembering Sena’s bruising grip and hot breath panting against sweaty skin, or the hot tight clutch of his body.

Shin pulled up short in the middle of the hallway and _scowled_ , glad that all the other guests were still sleeping or already in the dining room.

The run _had_ centered him.

Until it _hadn’t_.

The linebacker shook the thoughts roughly out of his head. He had better control than this! Dwelling on last night’s… activities… could wait until a more appropriate time. Nor would this constant meditation hasten any kind of re-occurrence. As much as Sena had enjoyed it- there was no reason to deny or be modest about that fact, not with Sena’s encouragements still ringing in his head- surely Sena wouldn’t be ready to repeat it any time soon. Shin needed to keep a stern grip on himself or Sena would get the wrong idea. Provoking, or guilting, or even just _encouraging_ Sena into trying again too soon would be epitome of irresponsible conduct. He’d get his shower things, check to see if Sena was ready to get up and get breakfast, and leave before his private thoughts betrayed him. With his very carefully constructed plan in place, Shin felt much more prepared stepping towards their room once more. Everything was better with a logical plan in place to keep to.

Shin eased open the door, hoping not to wake Sena if the younger man was still asleep, only to stop dead in the doorway. Only to slam into every moment of last night flashing beacon-like in front of him. Every too-toothy kiss, every lingering too-tight grip, every path his tongue and mouth had taken, laid out on Sena’s body like a map.

~~Zero to 60 in 4.1 seconds.~~

Because instead of still being  ~~safely~~ asleep, Sena was standing in the middle of the room barely dressed. His baggy jeans hung low and unbuttoned from his hips, showing off the dark green boxers underneath. The shirt he’d clearly laid out to wear was still lying on his bag, and his feet were bare, toes peeking from under the hems of his pants. His torso was still flushed from the showers, beaded with water that slid down the line and curves of his musculature, and the black and ruby 21 on his chest stood out stark and livid on his chest. Sena lowered the towel from his damp and heavy hair, and squeaked in surprise.

“ _Oh my god!_ I didn’t even hear you come in!” His laugh was self-deprecating and bright, but Shin’s eyes were stuck on the dark marks trailing down his body. Marks that matched a few Shin had found on himself that morning when he changed. “How was your run? Sei- Seijuuro?”

Shin jerked his eyes up, jaw clenching and eyes narrowing as he sought out _something_ to say. Words had never been his strong point and something about Sena’s guileless eyes and display of bare skin had him tongue-tied.

“Hey, Seijuuro, are you okay?” Sena tried again, hurrying across the room to touch his fingers to Shin’s forehead. His fingers felt cool against Shin’s skin, and he automatically moved forward, flushed cheek pressing into Sena’s still slightly damp palm.

“Yes.”

Sena smiled a little perplexed, but took Shin’s word. “You must’ve worn yourself out somehow. Maybe… you didn’t account for… l-last night…” His face flushed brighter than Shin’s, but kept eye contact stoutly.

Shin shook his head and closed the door behind him at last. Sena backed up and headed towards his bag and his shirt. “I’m more concerned about you after last night. How are you? Are you feeling any pain?”

Sena’s shoulders tightened, posture rigid and the blush crawling down the back of his neck. It made the hickey on the juncture of his neck and shoulder even darker.

“N-No! I would’ve told you if you did,” Sena sputtered. His walk didn’t look much different and when he bent down to pick up his shirt, the movement was slower than usual, tentative, but there was no wince or flinch. “I’m just a little achy, sore, you know? Like after a really intense workout. Not like _Death March_ intense, but, like, when we trained before the Christmas Bowl back in high school, remember?”

Sena was grinning now, holding his shirt negligently in his arms and chuckling. Unable to resist just a brief touch, Shin reached out to lay his hands on Sena’s arms, sliding his palms up and down the skin as his body crowded up at Sena’s back, not quite touching, wary of sweat and clean skin. Sena twisted enough to look up, eyes gleaming and _happy_.

Most of the time, Shin hated his face-blindness. Hated forgetting the exact shade of brown, the exact curve of lip into a smile, the slope of rounded cheek down to the line of his smooth jaw and pointed chin. Other times, seeing Sena’s face was like seeing it for the first time all over again and having his breath stolen by that look of _joy_ just because Shin was _there_.

“You’re extra touchy and weird this morning. Are you regretting…hmm, no, did you decide you didn’t _like_ it? What we did? Is it something you wouldn’t like to do again?” Sena asked, concern flashing over his face as well as a measure of disappointment.

“ _No_ ,” Shin denied vehemently. Too vehemently if Sena’s startled face was anything to go by. He closed his eyes on a rough sigh, mentally wrangling the words around his head to get them out in the correct order, and missed the look crossing Sena’s eyes.

Something _sly_ and vaguely triumphant.

When his eyes opened at movement, the look was long gone- replaced by something hesitant and heady, heat pooling in the pit of Shin’s stomach without him even understanding the expression in front of him. Sena turned to face Shin head on, hands slipping under the hem of the older man’s t-shirt to drag up clenching abs.

Shin grasped Sena’s wrists, mouth dry but words finally working, “You just showered. I need to-”

Sena raised up on his tiptoes to press a kiss to the hinge of Shin’s jaw. “I can shower again with you. After.”

“After?” Shin repeated hoarsely, hands going slack. Sena seemed to take it for the permission it was and pushed his hands up, palms flat to Shin’s chest and fingers splaying wide.

“ _Un_ ,” Sena agreed. He leaned back far enough to wrench the sweaty shirt up and over Shin’s head and toss it to the ground. The moment the shirt cleared his head, Sena was pressing close and erasing the bit of distance between them.

Any reservations Shin still harbored disappeared the moment Sena’s arms looped around his neck and dragged him down. They stumbled backwards, licking eagerly into each other’s mouth, lips smacking wetly around quiet huffs of breath. Sena’s hands were hard and heavy, wrenching them around as he tugged and pushed at Shin’s running shorts. Their pants fell in puddles around their ankles and Sena pushed him down, clambering down after him onto the futon, knees on either side of Shins’ hips and butt on Shin’s thighs. Somehow, they managed to keep their mouths connected, parting only to breathe, to fall down to the bed, only to collide together again.

Shin was dizzy with it, unable to figure out how he got turned around or to the ground. Sena was like a fire in his hands, hot and flushed, hands sliding over sweaty skin or digging into his hair and gripping tight. His own hands were stroking up Sena’s spine, down to his ass to cup around the firm curve and squeeze. Sena gasped against his mouth, rocking forward and making them both groan and shudder. Only the thin layers of their underwear separated them and the friction had Shin thrusting up with the thrust of his tongue into Sena’s mouth. Both of Sena’s hands buried in Shin’s hair, nails scratching over his scalp and sending goosebumps down his spine, as he rode the motions of Shin’s hips.

“Yeah, let’s like this. Can you reach my bag?” Sena asked breathlessly, slack mouth sliding up Shin’s jaw to suck the lobe of Shin’s ear.

His hands tightened on Sena’s ass, breath punching out of him as he imagined it in an instant; that tight heat and Sena rocking on top of him like this. But there was-

“Isn’t it…too soon?” Shin wrenched out, head falling back to the wall, tipping to the side as Sena’s tongue traced the shell of his ear.

“ _Uun_ , it’s okay. We were really good last night. We’ll be careful today and I haven’t eaten anything yet. We’re good, so _good_ ,” Sena replied quickly, grinding down a little harder just before a nip to the shell of Shin’s ear.

His resolved crashed around him. “Yeah, I can-” Shin muttered, heart beating faster as his hand shot out to grasp the bag just within his reach.

The shuddering sigh that came from Sena’s mouth sounded relieved and _eager_ , hot breath curling over the wet skin of Shin’s ear, making him shiver and the heat in his belly tighten into knots. He could feel his dick twitch in the confines of his boxer-briefs, Sena laughing breathlessly at the tell. As Shin dug out the lube and tore at the strip of condoms, Sena shimmed and wriggled out of his boxers, and _whoa_ , something so ridiculous-looking shouldn’t have his eyes crossing. Sena’s nimble fingers worked Shin’s sweaty, snug briefs off his hips, prompting him to lift his hips when he needed to. The condom and bottle fell to the futon absently when Sena sat back on his lap with both of them finally bare. Their foreheads knocked together and, with Sena balanced mostly on his knees and Shin slumped against the wall, they were eye-to-eye. Noses brushed and breaths puffed between their mouths as their hands traced reverently over naked skin.

“Sei,” their eyes met and held, “you forgot a spot. Here.” His fingers tapped a strip of skin just above his collarbone, drawing Shin’s eyes there. His dark gaze darted up to Sena’s as the smaller man licked his lips quickly. His voice was low and husky; his eyes didn’t leave Shin’s for a second. “Mark me up, Seijuuro.”

He felt his eyes go wide, astonishment jolting through him like an electric shock. Then, Sena’s mouth tipped into a crooked, bashful smile and he shrugged a shoulder. Shin cupped the back of Sena’s neck and yanked him down into a harsh kiss that had them moaning, teeth clacking before they got it right, nipping at bottom lips and soothing with strokes of their tongues. A bottle cap clicked open, but Sena’s chin was tipping to the side and Shin followed the motion, drawn to the proffered, unmarked flesh to dig in his teeth and feeling Sena shudder under his hands.

His pulse ratcheted up under Shin’s lips, bitten off cries muffled in Shin’s hair. Distantly, Shin sensed the movement of Sena’s arm, but he couldn’t bring himself to draw away from sucking hard enough to bruise dark and red the pale skin in front of him. It was the rolling motion of Sena’s hips and the quiet squelch of slick that finally caught his attention. Pulling away, Shin blew a soft, cool breath over the angry-looking mark his mouth had left and let his hand not buried in Sena’s hair slide over Sena’s hip to his butt, stroking down the curve to find that, sure enough, Sena already had a finger knuckle-deep.

He groaned deep and low, but shattering loud compared to muffled sounds of before.

“You’re not even waiting for me,” Shin realized, pressing the pad of his finger to the stretched rim of Sena’s hole.

“No, you go too slow,” Sena complained, biting down on his lip as Shin’s finger traced the tight pucker.

Shin hummed under his breath and pushed _up_ , filling Sena even fuller. Shivers ran down his spine so hard Shin could feel them. Slowly, he moved with Sena, thrusting in and out, but still too slow as his hips moved with their hands moments later. Shin nudged in his second finger, slipping into him as his hips moved down. Sena’s teeth dug into Shin’s shoulder, a sharp crack of pain that ended just as fast, a strangled groan smothered against Shin’s sweaty skin.

“Sei, _more, faster_ , please,” Sena pleaded in his ear, stuttering breath tickling his throat.

He should go slower, he knew in some part of his brain that he was supposed to be going slower. But Sena’s hands were digging into his shoulder-blades, one hand sticky with lube and the other skidding over slippery skin. His third finger was already pressing up to Sena’s hole, thrusting just fast to enough to have the breath sobbing past Sena’s lips.

“That’s it, Sei. You can go faster now,” Sena whispered, red, damp mouth pressing kisses to Shin’s throat and jaw.

Shin looked up- somehow Sena was higher, arms braced on Shin’s shoulders, and he looked down with dark, half-lidded eyes, bitten lips parted and puffy. His pupils were blown so wide,his gaze was black and mesmerizing. “You’re amazing.”

That red flush burned up to his ears, but his lips quirked into a smile. Which broke with a gasp at the quick thrust of Shin’s fingers. Their cocks brushed, tantalizing and frustrating with the brief, fleeting friction at the erratic motion of their hips. Pre-cum was already sliding down the darkly flushed flesh of his cock. Just watching Sena ride his fingers, listening to him ask for more, was pushing Shin to the edge, and he wanted Sena to cum like this, on his fingers and nothing else.

Suddenly he was on his back, his hands falling to the futon and Sena’s hands pinning down his shoulders. He was panting, eyes wide and fierce.

“ _No_. Not this time,” Sena said brusquely. Shin blinked and realized he’d said that all out loud.

Something swooped and burned in his gut at Sena’s desire bringing out the force of nature that hid inside Eyeshield 21. "What do you need?" he conceded, his gaze darting over Sena's face. 

Sena but his lip again, then reached over for the bottle and clicked it open. “You should get the condom,” he suggested, pouring more lube over his hand and rubbing his fingers together.

Shin nodded and grabbed the foil pocket that had ended up under his back. He ripped the packet open too hard, the condom almost destroyed by his enthusiasm. Hissing at the feeling, he slid the condom down his erection, yanking his hands away when Sena slapped his arm.

“Where’s the timidity?” Shin grunted, hands bracing on Sena’s thighs, pupils dilated and body shaking when Sena’s slick hand slid up and down the length of him.

Sena crawled on all fours a little higher up, leaning down to brush a quick peck of lips to Shin’s. “I don’t need it right now.”

Shin chuckled softly, the answering wide grin from Sena turning the moment sweet. And then Sena lowered himself down, squeezing the breath out of Shin’s lungs. There was a slight wince and Sena breathed in slow and deep, his hips moving achingly _slow_. His muscles quivered with the need to move, bury up into Sena’s body as deep as he could go, but Sena’s hands on his shoulders, fingernails stinging briefly, kept him pinned in more ways than one. He waited, breath bated and chest heaving, as Sena seated himself on Shin’s lap completely. His head hung low, chin to his chest, as he stilled for an agonizingly long moment. Just when Shin thought he couldn’t stand it a second longer, Sena’s hips rocked forward, a small noise hissing past his teeth. It was drowned out by the louder groan Shin let out, fingers slipping over Sena’s skin, desperate for an anchor, a handhold as he rolled with the movement.

Sena moaned louder and rocked harder, grinding down even deeper. It had stars bursting behind Shin’s closed eyelids, his body moving without conscious thought. Suddenly, they were a rhythm building into something faster and harsher, Sena rising up just a bit to slam back down. They both grunted and gasped, eyes flying open and finding each other in something like shock.

“Again,” Shin croaked, tone strained. Sena nodded mutely and rose higher and fell harder down. His hand flew up to dig his teeth into the meat of his palm, his cry stifled just barely in time.

It sounded almost like pain, but he was already doing it again, faster, harder, eyelashes fluttering and hand on Shin’s chest pressing down to brace himself better. When he moved down, Shin thrust up, panting as his stomach muscles burned, but it was _worth_ it. His eyes about rolled to the back of his head, and Sena’s cry sounded like a _shout_. He sat up straighter, bracing hand sliding down Shin’s chest to balance on his hip so Sena could throw himself into _riding_ every crest and wave of Shin’s body. He bobbed and dipped, cries coming out louder and quicker than his huffing breaths from behind his hand, erection neglected and forgotten as it bobbed and dipped with him.

“ _Oh my god, oh my god_ , _Sei_ , I can’t- please, harder, I’m so-” Sena sobbed out, thighs shaking and body jerking with every thrust up into him. His hands reached out, clutching at Shin’s shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” Shin said swiftly. His voice sounded too wispy, wheezing out of him as he rose up on one elbow and wrapped the other arm around Sena’s waist.

Tears filmed Sena’s lashes, mouth falling back open at the slight difference in position. The shudders that wracked through him almost knocked Shin back onto his back, but he steeled his arm and dragged Sena closer. Their chests pressed, Sena’s cock trapped between two sweaty, heaving stomachs, and his hands settled on Shin’s shoulders. Eye to eye again, Sena rocked up and down, pulling up so high Shin's dick almost slipped free, only to thrust back down the length of him, panting out Shin’s name. He responded with repetitive, unnecessary ‘yeah’s, unable to help himself as his heart pounded too fast and the tension built up in his gut.

“Sena, I have to- ” Shin puffed, thighs and stomach burning and the climax surging. He cupped Sena's face briefly, getting his attention. "Sena, can you come for me?"

HIs head jerked up and down like a bobble-head toy. “I-I just,” Sena cut himself off and buried his hands in Shin’s hair to slam their mouths together, moaning at the tightening of Shin’s arm around him. His hips thrust forward, cock sliding through the sweaty, tacky mess there, then he froze against Shin. His body went tight, so tight Shin slammed his eyes shut and groaned long and low, orgasm crashing down and bowling him over. Barely hanging onto the hope that Sena wasn't far behind.

The splashes of wet heat over his belly evidenced Sena’s own release. With a deep sigh, Shin fell back and threw an arm over his face. Sena pressed his face into the curve of his throat, too-rapid pants fanning over his skin.

It took a long while for Shin to finally get his breath back and slowly lower his arm from his face. With a soft grunt, Sena pushed himself up and leaned over Shin’s face.

“If you weren’t overworked before, you might be now…” Sena pointed out, mouth twitching.

Shin slapped a hand over his face and choked out a strangled laugh. He stilled immediately at the feeling of Sena flinching above him.

“Sena, are you all right? Are you hurt?” he demanded, hands on Sena’s shoulders and expression darkened with concern.

Sena looked sheepish, but not exactly pale or pained. “I might be overworked, too. But I’m fine. Just a lot sorer. I think I need a long soak in the hot spring.”

“We can do that,” Shin agreed, his cleaner hand tracing the curve of Sena’s cheekbone. The dopey smile that followed the motion soothed most of his worry.

“Also breakfast. I’m _starving_ ,” Sena admitted, even as his stomach grumbled. Shin nodded fervently.

“It’s much past my usual scheduled time for breakfast,” Shin agreed, groaning lightly as he struggled to sit up.

“Oh wa-wait, do-don’t- ergh, too late,” Sena muttered to himself, wincing and making a disgusted face. Shin’s expression mirrored his a second later. “Let’s shower as soon as possible.”

“Your _thingies_ won’t be enough,” Shin mocked, eyebrow rising. Sena rolled his eyes and flushed.

“I was _tired_ ,” he grumbled, slowly and wincingly pulling away. Shin’s concern returned and he helped Sena into the yukata from yesterday before he got his. Sena tried multiple times to wave him off, but by the time they headed towards the showers, he was definitely walking strangely. Not really limping or anything like that, but _different_ , each step ginger and careful.

.

They spent the rest of the day taking it ‘easy’. Despite Sena’s many protests that he was ‘fine’, Shin refused to let him run up temple steps or spend too long sightseeing. Instead, they went shopping _leisurely_ \- because yes, Sena _did_ end up buying gifts for all his friends and family, of course he did- and visited a few local tourist traps. Including paddle-boating on a wide, glassy lake; Shin refused to let Sena paddle, but ended up getting them kicked off the lake anyway. He didn’t understand why, but something about a turbulent wake and speed limits and terrifying other tourists (not to mention flocks of birds). Huh. It became an impromptu picnic instead, eating whatever vendor food they could find (and that Shin mostly approved of; they really should have better, healthier options- _no Sena, I don’t understand how that defeats the purpose_ ) and a large mango and vanilla ice cream parfait, more fresh mango than ice cream, that Shin somehow ended up helping Sena eat. Even though he’d flatly refused his own and pointed out Sena wouldn’t be able to finish the one he chose alone. (It _was_ delicious, though. He just had to ignore the instant urge to go run it off…)

Sena flopped onto the bed much later that evening, grinning wide and arms and legs splayed spread eagle- only possible due to their street clothes they still wore. Shin watched in amusement as Sena kicked his slippers off and curled up like a cat contentedly.

“I didn’t think _the_ Eyeshield 21, ace of Enma Flames, could be tired so quickly,” Shin taunted mildly, kneeling more sedately next to Sena. His fingers brushed hair out of Sena’s eyes to get a better look at his perfectly distinct features. A fleeting thought crossed his mind- perhaps he enjoyed touching Sena’s face so often because it helped him see? That made logical sense.

“Today was great, right? You like your birthday trip?” Sena murmured questioningly. He caught Shin’s hand and threaded their fingers together, resting their joined hands on the futon between them.

With a minute shake of his head at the folly, Shin lowered himself down to lay across the futon facing Sena. “That is a ridiculous inquiry.”

Sena’s eyebrows shot up even as laughter filled the curves and lines of his face. The smile threatening to surface. “Yeah?”

“Despite your attempts to utterly ruin my strict diet with carbohydrates and sugars-” There it was, the laugh bursting forth from behind a guilty blush, “I have enjoyed our time here. Every moment.”

The redness on Sena’s cheeks burned brighter at the look Shin leveled him. He could only imagine his face gave away enough for Sena to catch his subtle innuendo. The quick sweep of his lashes covering his eyes bashfully for a moment confirmed it. Sena looked up again though, what embarrassment he held eclipsed by pleased satisfaction (though perhaps not on account of the carnal implications… _wholly_ ). His bottom lip disappeared in his mouth, biting slightly, before speaking up.

“We still have a half day tomorrow. We can get up early and go jogging up to that temple together. Light some incense before heading back to Tokyo. That early in the morning, I bet it’s beautiful and… and _tranquil_. That’s the right word, right?”

“Right,” Shin concurred, in both the usage and meaning. He frowned slightly, but Sena raised his free hand and covered Shin’s mouth before he could open it.

“I’m _fine_. And I’ll definitely be fine after a good night’s sleep. Unless you decide on another _moment_.” The words rushed out of him, the tease twitching up his lips into something like a smirk.

Shin blinked, honestly surprised for a moment. Then, he felt his own lips quirk to almost match. “Or _you_ do.”

Sena blushed beet-red and turned his face to the futon to laugh, cracked and high-pitched with diffidence, but bright all the same.

However... maybe there was nothing logical about it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief Translation: Un/Uun: Yeah/No in Japanese. Very informal and yeah/no just aren't the same. Who needs full articulation when you have "actual grunt words" in your vocabulary!??! I STILL use these words in my conversations sometimes despite not having a Japanese class in over 6 years? 5?
> 
> It didn't come out EXACTLY how I wanted. Mainly because Sena is a shy, smolbean who did his best, and Shin is a sappy romantic cheeseball. omfgosh the schmoop that fitted itself into every nook and cranny of this smutty mess, just... *smh* Fucking Shin Muse is killing me. 
> 
> This IS the last excerpt for Trips. The "Day 3" is just a half day of them running up and down some stairs and being schmoopy goobers and going back home. Y'all can extrapolate. *winks and fingerguns*
> 
> DESIRES is NOT over, though. Just to clarify. *winks and fingerguns harder*


	7. Needs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d been watching him, liking him, wanting him, since he was fifteen. Maybe sixteen. The tipping point was a little blurry in there. 
> 
> But there had been something about… about today that had him burning from the inside. Had his mouth too dry and shivers running down his spine while heat pooled low and thick in his belly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Choices' took place in the winter break before spring semester; this takes place at the END of the spring semester of Sena’s 3rd year, and Shins’ 4th. (WWA takes place sometime after this game as well, if you care to know.)
> 
> This does not answer any OTP prompt question. This is just fucking smut. ENJOY!

 Down on the field, the Ojou team jogged their way back to the bench. Perks of boyfriend being nosebleed seats over the bench meant Sena had the perfect view of Shin’s face the moment he pulled off his helmet and shook his sweaty, damp hair into a spiky mess that shadowed his eyes.

He hadn’t been on that field that day, but Sena felt the force of a Trident Tackle right to his stomach, knocking him breathless mid-cheer for the champions of the spring tournament. Ojou fans and his friends all jumped and cheered and whistled, cheersticks were banging wildly all around him, but Sena’s entire attention was on Shin as his teammates clapped his back and he leaned forward to dump water over his head. He looked _rough_. His uniform stained and battered, tugged and twisted haphazardly around his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His gloved hand rubbed just under his bottom lip, brows contracting as his lip cracked and bled sluggishly. He looked like he’d survived a fistfight and come out the victor rather than played a game of amefuto with people he considered friends. He looked filthy, breathless, and battered, but his eyes searched out Sena’s in the crowd and as that half-smile curved up the side of his mouth, he held out a fist in Sena’s direction.

Gulping, Sena grinned shakily and held up his fist in return. It dropped slowly, his eyes still glued to Shin’s broad back, as Ojou players steered him towards the locker rooms.

“Hey, Sena? Dude, where you at?”

He blinked too-wide eyes darkened from too-wide pupils, and quickly pasted that grin back on his face. “What? Yeah, of course. I’ll wait a bit and go get Seijuuro. You guys can go ahead,” he told his friends. Suzuna and Riku glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows. Monta just shrugged and slapped Sena’s back.

“I gotta get back and pack up sooner or later. We’ll see you back home, bro,” Monta said before turning to the others. “Let’s get something to eat before heading back.”

There were some agreements, but Sena had already lost the thread of the conversation. He clutched at his shirt over his stomach, knuckles white and heart pounding so hard it thrummed in his ears. He was twenty years old. He’d been dating Shin for more than two years. He’d been watching him, liking him, _wanting_ him, since he was _fifteen_. Maybe sixteen. The tipping point was a little blurry in there. But there had been something about… about _today_ that had Sena burning from the inside. Had his mouth too dry and shivers running down his spine while heat pooled low and thick in his belly.

The OU locker room was full of rambunctious, giant, college boys, all in various stages of undress as they laughed and joked and snapped their clothes at bare skin. Stupid boy stuff that normally Sena would be laughing at as he expertly dodged. But Shin wasn’t among them. His stern features and stiff shoulders were missing and Sena didn’t have eyes for anyone but Shin at that moment. He barely saw the men he’d come to consider peripheral friends. Even Sakuraba’s voice couldn’t break through the shell around him. His wide and dilated brown eyes skidded right over Sakuraba’s face as the sound of the showers caught his ear. He waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the muffled voices and followed his feet.

A bemused Sakuraba blinked after him, arms frozen in the midst of holding up his shirt.

“Huh, what’s with Kobayakawa?” Ootawara asked in confusion.

“I… I don’t think we wanna know, buddy. Let’s round everybody up for pizza and beer.”

“Pizza and beer!?”

The resounding cheers and hurried flurries to finish dressing thankfully distracted anyone from further questioning Sena’s strange antics. Sakuraba shook his head and pulled his shirt over his head. Sometimes not having Takami on his team anymore sucked even more than usual. Times like this, when he didn’t have someone to commiserate with (or laugh hysterically with), were especially sucky.

 

Sena stepped out of his shoes and socks as steam beaded his skin. The tile was cool under his feet, but the further he edged into the showers, the warmer it got. He dropped his shoes, stuffed with his socks, onto the very edge of the bench. Next to a neatly folded towel and a just as tidily-folded pile of Ojou’s silver and blue uniform. He could just barely make out the top of the 40. Grass and dirt and sweat stained the once shiny silver to a filthy, matte grey. Just barely visible was the blood splatter caused by the split lip Gaou’s bestial charge had made before half time. It was also the only uniform still sitting on the shelf, and only one pair of slippers was sitting under the bench.

He yanked his shirt up over his head and dropped it carelessly next to the uniform. His shorts and underwear joined a second later. Water slicked the floor under the soles of his bare feet, but that wasn’t the only reason he moved slow. His attention was arrested by the figure in the stall ahead, not quite the last one in the row, as he walked around the corner into the row of shower stalls.

Shin’s head was bowed under the steady stream of scorching water. Steam billowed around him, but didn’t quite hide the long, lean lines of his body from sight; the bulge of slumped shoulders into biceps and dripping arms, large, strong hands braced flat against the wall in front of him. It didn’t hide the sharp wings of his shoulder blades framing the curve of his spine, leading down the dimples in his lower back- dimples that rested just over the tight ass Sena  _did not_ appreciate enough. He spent way too much time focusing on arms, or pecs, or _abs_ \- what a shame. Water slid down Shin's legs, collected in the hollows behind his knees, glistened on thickly corded thighs and calves.

Sena cleared his throat and Shin’s head jerked up with a grunt, though he didn’t turn around. “H-hey, um… mind if I join?” Sena asked hesitantly. He’d feel _really_ stupid if Shin said no _now_ , but… he couldn’t just _not_ ask first.

This time Shin did turn, surprise on his face as he blinked rapidly to clear away the water flowing into his eyes. His hair had gotten so long the past semester, it hung almost to the tip of his nose and fell to his ear lobes. Sena couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

“Sena? When did-”

“Just now. I think I heard something about pizza and beer, but… you looked like you needed some r ‘n r. Did you want the pizza? Or …” Sena trailed off and stepped closer, fingers fidgeted awkwardly in front of him, but he didn’t really feel nervous. He was too busy letting his eyes roam over every nook and cranny of Shin with greater attention to detail.

Details like the bruise forming under his left eye on his cheek bone. The puffy, scabbing bottom lip. The large bruises over his chest and sides and even his left shoulder that might’ve once been in the shape of a hand until that same hand had struck too many times and blurred its own imprint. He was close enough to reach up and lay his hand over Shin’s shoulder, stroking gently and carefully, wary of any soreness or unseen-as-yet bruises. Shin’s eyes dropped closed on a soft sigh.

“R n’ r sounds much better than watching everyone eat pizza and drink beer. I can finish quickly-”

“No, you don’t… I mean, I’m already in here. Relax, Seijuuro,” Sena interrupted, shaking his head fondly with a slight eyeroll. Shin frowned at him slightly, but shrugged. “Just… do whatever you were doing.”

“…all right?” Shin agreed, baffled. He turned his face back into the spray, wincing at the jets of water hitting the tender spots on his cheek and mouth.

Sena stepped behind him, dragging his hand back up Shin’s arm and shoulder, then down his back, his second hand joining. Carefully avoiding the worst bruises, he dug the heels of his hands and rolled his knuckles into the tightest knots of muscle in Shin’s back. He knew from experience just where the worst of it would be, just how much pressure to apply, and had Shin groaning under his breath in moments. Sena smiled, rather sharply, and kept up the steady pressure, using his thumbs to really knead in. When Shin’s forehead fell against the tiled wall, his breath panting loud enough to be heard despite the water still spraying down on both of them and misting Sena’s squinting face, Sena leaned forward. His lips touched soaked, warm skin. Shin stilled in surprise, but Sena’s thumbs and knuckles kneading into his lower back had his legs shaking and a gasp breaking from him.

Lips ghosted over the furthest edge of a bruise, then pressed harder to unmarked skin. Unthinkingly, Sena licked up the path of a water, rocking onto his toes to suck at the junction of Shin’s neck and shoulder. The groan sounded almost identical to the ones before- so either his massage was really good, or his mouth was, Sena wasn’t sure. His hands stroked down Shin’s side, fingertips tracing muscle, to grip narrow hips tightly.

“S-Sena…” Shin murmured, hoarse and thready. The kind of voice that had Sena moaning quietly, needy, as he nipped at damp skin and his cock, already half-mast, jumped.

“Yeah?” he prompted, his feet falling back to his heels and his mouth trailing down, too. Down that intoxicating path of his spine, teeth and tongue grazing over skin.

The pause between the question and the answer was a long one, eclipsed by the harsh, too fast panting muffled by tile. “We’re in the showers,” the linebacker finally gritted out.

“Yeah,” Sena breathed out in agreement, breath fanning over the middle of Shin’s back. His hands moved just enough to span Shin’s butt, thumbs kneading even there, right where the muscles had knotted too tautly.

Sena really felt like he was getting the better end of the deal here. It wasn’t often he got to hear Shin moan and gasp like _that_. A dizzingly image entered his head, one he knew wouldn’t be for _now_ , but knowing he wanted to try it. He stood even as his thumbs slipped down the slight curve of Shin’s ass to press just where thigh met glutes. Sena could feel Shin’s legs shaking under his palms, and he pressed soft, quick kisses to Shin’s back in response. It felt like he was holding up Shin for once, anchoring him to his feet and keeping him standing. A heady, powerful kind of feeling.

Shin’s hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him forward. Sena yelped in shock, his free hand reaching out to brace on the wall as he hissed at the shock of his dick, throbbing from neglected need, pressing to the crease of Shin’s thighs.

“So, we’re wasting water,” Shin growled lowly.

A grin of victory flashed over Sena’s face. It should’ve been out of place, _he_ hadn’t been the one to win today’s spring tournament final game, but triumph had him giddy anyway.

“Okay, I got it. Move faster,” Sena said, licking his lips as his heart sped up with exhilaration. Shin dropped his wrist with a grunt. Sena placed his hand to Shin’s chest, the other skidding over slippery tile until he set his weight just right.

He pressed his lips to Shin’s back again, breathing heavier, and mouth a little sloppier. Then, he rocked his hips forward. He groaned against bare skin, eyes squeezed tightly shut, and dragged his hand down Shin’s stomach. He could feel Shin’s hips moving back and forth with him, and his heart beating like a drum, like Sena’s. Everywhere was slick, hot skin, the slip and slide of skin and the desperate arc of Shin’s back the longer Sena’s hand lingered on his stomach.

“I thought we said _faster_ ,” Shin muttered, panting loudly when Sena bit and sucked at a patch of skin.

Sena hummed in agreement and let his hand slip further down. A thatch of short, thick hair met his fingertips, and he gradually curled his fist around the base of Shin’s dick, stroking up the length of him slowly to enjoy the low, drawn out sound of Shin’s relief. With Shin shuddering under his hands, Sena finally pulled back enough to grip his own erection, aiming a bit more accurately with his trembling hand. When he thrust slowly forward, he slid through the hot, damp clench between Shin’s thighs. They moaned together, slumping forward, hips thrusting faster into the friction offered. Shin caught on fast enough, unsurprisingly, and pressed his legs together tightly.

Stars burst behind Sena’s eyelids, an amazed gasp of _SeijuuroSei_ stuttered past his mouth to brand over Shin’s back now marked by Sena’s teeth. Not someone else’s hand. His hand gripped a little more surely around Shin's cock in response, pumping faster. Shin snapped his body forward into the clasp of Sena’s hand, his low-pitched grunts sounding at every swipe of Sena’s thumb over the leaking head of his cock. They moved together, not quite in-sync, but not counter. Just faster and faster thrusts as they built closer and closer to their edge. They barely even noticed how much cooler the water was getting.

Sena’s hand, that had just been bracing against the wall, realized it could be doing something _else_. Like bending his elbow under Shin’s arm to curl his own arm over Shin's chest and grip at his shoulder with an almost bruising strength, to pull Shin closer and erase the gap between their bodies.

Shin fell forward, hands flat on the wall, face pressed to the backs of his hands, as Sena pinned him down. Each rollicking jerk of their bodies, every slap of skin to skin, every squelch of slick fluid between fingers or thighs, was the work of _Sena’s_ tempo. Shin was caught beneath Sena’s hands, his mouth too wide around his gasps, brows tight and low in a desperate frown, hair flicking over his nose and jawline.

“I’m-I’m gonna- Seijuuro, are you close?” Sena wheezed, forehead pressed to the between Shins’ shoulder blades, his whole body shaking at the force of his climax hovering just at the back of his mind. Waiting to crash like a wave over him.

Shin nodded mutely at first, snapping his mouth shut to swallow thickly. Sena’s hand cupping the head of his dick, stroking over the sensitive skin with rough, callused fingertips, had him jolting forward with a startled shout. “Yes. _Yes_ , now!” Shin burst out, fingernails uselessly trying to dig into tile. They stilled- almost completely, only small, mindless rocking of their hips left to them. Cum seeped between Sena’s fingers, over the back of his hand, searing hot in comparison to the too-cool water now chilling his goosebumping skin. Sweat and water both filmed their bodies, his knees were trembling, and his cheek was pressed to Shin's bruised back. But Sena was floating, gasping for air and still holding Shin pressed tightly to his chest as his hips worked while the last of his orgasm wrung from him.

They came down shuddering and exhaling loud enough to echo.

Sena blinked, eyelashes clumped with water, slowly lifting his face away from Shin's back.

“So… that was…”

Shin just grunted wordlessly.

“We should… finish this at home.”

That had Shin turning, one half-lidded eye meeting Sena’s. “Finish?” he repeated blankly.

Sena flushed bright red and pressed his face against Shin’s back, out of sight. “There’s something else… I really… I really _need_ to do. If you… if you wanna?”

Shin straightened a bit. Sena stepped back and let Shin stretch and unkink his neck.

“What do you need?”

Sena gulped and met his eyes from under the heavy mop of hair hanging in his face. “I really wanna ride you again. Kinda like our trip last year.”

Shin blinked once. Then, grabbed the soap and set it in Sena’s hands. “Let’s go.”

Sena stared at him uncomprehendingly, then choked out a shocked laugh. “All right.”

* * *

The subway ride to Ojou had been friggin’ _torture_. Honestly, Sena’s apartment would’ve been closer, but he had no idea where his friends had gone, or when they'd get back home. And they both _knew_ the Ojou Knights were out celebrating, probably until late into the night. Shin’s huge dorm he shared with Sakuraba was a safer bet and was technically more like a 2-bedroom apartment anyway. Sena and Shin stood side-by-side the whole ride there, hands clutching the hanging handholds, bumping unsteadily into each other as the subway shook and rattled around every curve of the track. Their eyes met and slid away repeatedly the entire way, Sena’s mouth twitching in a petrified sort of amusement, his pulse ratcheting up every time. Especially when his eyes caught sight of the hickey just barely peeping out under Shin's collar.

The door into the dormitory’s shared common room opened anticlimactically. Sena stumbled out of his shoes and finally looked up at Shin, licking his lips nervously.

“We don’t have to- I mean, we can just take a nap. You’re probably tired,” Sena suggested, hands fidgeting in front of him. Shin adjusted the strap of his bag and raised an eyebrow.

“I'm not tired, Sena. You weren't the only one wanting to hurry up the train.”

Sena let out a noisy exhale and weird, breathy chuckle. “So... jumping you like they do in those TV dramas... you'd be okay with that?”

The gym bag fell with the thump. Sena’s eyes darted from the bag, then up to Shin’s face, to the challenging look on his expression. Awareness had the hair rising on the back of Sena's neck. Then, Sena was in Shin’s arms, legs around his waist and hands buried in his still damp hair, without another word. Shin’s hands braced under his thighs, grip hot and tight, and Sena boldly licked his way into Shin’s mouth. The low, quiet moan Shin made had heat pulling taut and slick in Sena’s belly. Maybe the long subway ride had been a blessing in disguise, because Sena already felt his cock harden and press against the uncomfortable line of his zipper. Maybe it’d just been too damn long since they’d done this. Maybe he was remembering just how much he liked being the one to pin _Shin_ in the showers, hold him down and make him _shake_ and he was looking forward to doing that again.

He tasted the coppery tang of blood on his tongue and jerked back in concern, eyes darting to Shin’s mouth. And remembered abruptly what had really started this. A disheveled, filthy, and triumphant Shin on the field holding up his gloved fist.

“Oh God, am I kinky?” Sena blurted aloud in horror, even as he thumbed away the minute trace of blood on Shin’s lip.

Shin’s head knocked against the door behind him, mouth drawn tight and shoulders shaking in his nearly silent, huffing laugh. “ _What_?”

Sena blushed to his hairline. “It’s… I… you on the field! I got all hot seeing you all messed up after the game. I’m still hot and bothered. Oh my God, I know we never say it, but I feel like a filthy porno star and wanting to say words like ‘ _fuck me_ ’ or something!” Sena babbled, still horrified and humiliated. He dropped his forehead to Shin’s collarbone and soaked in the sound of Shin’s laugh vibrating deep in his chest. "I mean, it's one thing to try new things. It's another to  _have_ a  _kink_."

“I thought the idea was for _you_ to fuck me?”

Sena reared up so fast he almost knocked his head into Shin’s chin. “You wanna- I mean- wow, I can’t tell if you using that word was extra hot or extra _weird_ \- but, um, you want… me to?” Sena exclaimed, eyes wide. Shin squinted slightly.

“That’s not what I was implying, but we could… try?” he said dubiously. Sena dithered, biting his lower lip and chewing the top layer of skin almost right off. "I meant you being on top like last year."

“No, no, not this time. I want- I _need_ to... try something. ... you don’t think it’s weird, though?” Sena asked awkwardly. Shin huffed and shook his head.

“Not if this is the consequence.”

Sena ducked his head, feeling ridiculously pleased at that. His fingers curled into the collar of Shin’s shirt and he leaned over to brush his lips over Shin’s. “Good. Let’s go,” Sena all but _ordered_ , before slanting his mouth over Shin’s again.

Hands flexed under Sena’s thighs just as Shin started the slow, careful trek to the bedroom. Sena smoothed his hands over Shin’s shoulders, down his chest, as his tongue thrust into Shin’s mouth. They broke off to gasp or laugh at each stumble, kisses becoming small, stinging nips and soothing flicks of tongue. A wall thumped at Sena’s back, and he grunted at the impact, snickering as Shin fumbled with the doorknob. At Shin’s inattention, Sena ran his mouth up Shin’s jawline to nip at his ear instead, breathing hotly over the arch of it to feel Shin shudder under him.

The door banged open and they barely paused so Shin could kick it shut again. Shin fell to the bed a second later, holding Sena close to keep from jostling him off. Sena’s hands braced on the bed next to Shin’s shoulders just a second, until he remembered how _clothed_ they were. He reared up, and yanked and tugged at Shin’s shirt. Easily, from years of practice, they stripped down to underwear and Sena started shimmying his way down Shin’s chest, mouth following his hands with fleeting, hot kisses.

“What are you doing?” Shin asked as he rose onto his hands and watched Sena kneel on the floor in front of him. Sena glanced up and it was one of the few moments he could look at Shin with a deadpanned and wry expression on his face. He glanced down at his hands on Shin’s knees and the tented briefs literally in front of his nose, and gave Shin the look again.

“What does it look-”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You- you just stop thinking. Could you give me the lube?”

Shin frowned, clearly torn. But he reached over for the drawer even as Sena spread his knees and pressed his tongue to the small, damp spot on Shin’s briefs. The bottle was thrust at one of Sena’s hands as Shin’s other hand buried itself in Sena’s thick hair. Sena set the bottle on the ground beside him absently, focused more on sucking the tip of Shin’s cock into his mouth through the thick cotton. Shin’s hips arched up into his mouth and Sena heard him groan quietly when the fabric kept the thrust too shallow. Instead of caving, Sena took his time, laving at the fabric with his tongue and mouth until that tiny patch of damp was suddenly a huge, soaking mess, and his hand was pressing down on the front of his underwear until he gave in and shoved them off.

When his fingers finally curled around the elastic band of Shin’s briefs, he jerked up his pelvis so fast, Sena almost bit him. Sena leaned back, laughing slightly and lips rubbed raw and red, his eyes glancing up to Shin’s to see that small smirk on his face. His callused thumb brushed the corner of Sena’s mouth while Sena pulled the underwear away and tossed them… somewhere.

“This wasn’t what I was expecting,” Shin noted hoarsely, eyes slipping almost shut as Sena’s traced his thumbnail lightly up the length of his dick.

“Wanted t’multitask,” Sena mumbled, a little bashfully for some odd reason.

Confusion flittered over Shin’s face for merely a second, before he leaned back on one hand and curled the other around the back of Sena’s neck. Sena let Shin pull him down, tongue flicking out to taste the beaded precum on the head of Shin’s cock, just as the snap of a bottle opening cracked through the room.

He fumbled with his hands, smearing lube over his fingers as he licked over Shin’s erection, wetting it thoroughly. When enough lube was spread over his hand, he wrapped his loose fist around the base of Shin’s dick and sank his mouth down, relishing in the soft, raspy sound Shin made. Balancing just so on his knees, Sena breathed heavily through his nose and let Shin guide him up and down, hollowing his cheeks as he sucked. Having Shin guide the slow, steady pace of his mouth made it easier to reach back and press the first finger into himself, a little too fast. He moaned around Shin’s cock, making Shin’s hand falter, tightening around the back of his neck before continuing. Matching Shin’s pace, Sena fucked into himself, second finger joining the first to scissor carefully, heart thumping too fast with anticipation, needing more _sooner_. His mouth was sloppy and wet around Shin, moving faster than Shin’s careful handling as he fingered himself wider. As if despite himself, Shin’s hips were twitching up into Sena’s mouth, almost too deep and flirting with Sena’s gag reflex. Only their years of experience together kept it from going too far.

The third finger pressed in, stretching his hole wide, and Sena let out a strangled groan with Shin down his throat. Shin’s hand tightened and held Sena there even as he gasped above Sena, thighs shaking on either side of Sena's shoulders.

“ _Sena_ ,” Shin rasped quietly. Sena looked up, eyes a little watery at the edges and pupils blown so wide there wasn’t anything left of the brown. His hand smoothed over Shin’s thigh and he barely managed a slight nod.

And the slow steady pace disappeared. Replaced by Shin snapping his hips up into Sena’s mouth, and Sena holding still and moaning messily at each thrust of his fingers in time with Shin’s hips. He couldn’t get deep enough to get _that_ spot, but even the feel of his fingers curling in him, mimicking each motion of Shin’s body, had his eyes slipping shut and had him trying desperately not to jerk himself off like this. His fingernails dug into Shin’s thigh, and he swallowed around the head of Shin's cock and sucking harder. Shin hissed through his teeth, then he thrust deeper, nudging the back of Sena’s throat and freezing, before doing it again, faster, breath choppy and rough at each swallowing sensation around him. Making Shin break composure this much was probably the best part of sex with Shin, and was more addictive than sugar.

But it wasn’t what Sena wanted today. It wasn’t what he _needed_. He pushed back against Shin’s hand and pulled his own fingers free, whimpering slightly at the feeling of being open and _empty_. Shin’s hand immediately yanked away, and when Sena leaned away, saliva caught on his lips and had him blushing while rubbing at his chin and mouth with the back of his clean hand. He blinked blearily up at his boyfriend.

Who looked _wrecked_. Flushed and panting, sweat sliding down his temples and the hollow his throat, dick dark and shining obscenely against his heaving stomach. The bruises looked livid on his skin, and they weren’t just from the match- Sena’s eyes caught on the ones left by his mouth, small blotches of rusty red on Shin’s perfectly lined torso.

“Get-” Sena broke off to clear his throat and try again. His voice was still octaves lower and hoarse, and Shin’s dick jumped at the sound, “Get up against the headboard. Sitting, please,” Sena described, the please added by rote and making Shin snort softly despite the panting.

Shin shoved himself up against the headboard, legs spreading wide and hands loosely lying on his thighs as he watched Sena stumble to his feet with the lube in his hand. “Do you- like telling me what you want?” Shin asked, his voice catching slightly and belying the easygoing words.

“Yeah, yeah, I _really_ do. I... um… I don’t…” Sena paused and stared at the bottle in his hand. “I don’t want to use a condom,” he said at last.

At the long silence, Sena glanced up through the fringe of his bangs to see Shin’s shocked wide eyes. Sena winced and easily swung himself up on the bed and straddled Shin’s thighs. He popped open the top and smeared his clean hand with lube.

“We don’t have to, Sei. I just wanted to put it out there. I thought it’d be… nice?” he winced at the word. His lubed fingers traced down the length of Shin’s dick, and Shin had to visibly hold himself together, eyes squeezing shut and lips thinning into a line.

“We… We can. Try,” Shin puffed out, head falling back. Sena blinked, startled, sure Shin would have vetoed that idea. With a startled, pleased grin, Sena leaned forward to press a quick, chaste kiss to Shin’s mouth and wrap his hand completely around Shin’s erection.

Only to get caught for longer than he’d planned, dragged into a kiss that was mostly tongue and harsh breaths; he had to basically tug himself away to end it. He scowled down at his hands before wiping them _mostly_ effectively on the bedcover, and shuffled back to turn around and straddle Shin's thighs backwards.

“Sena, not the _duvet_. What are you doing?” Shin muttered, pained and confused.

“Sorry, I’ll wash them. But… um… I want to do it like this. Put your hands here,” Sena said, taking said-hands and putting them on his hips. He raised a little higher on his knees and reached down to hold Shin’s cock up. He didn't want to wait any longer, ready to finally _at fucking last_ get Shin's dick inside him the way he'd wanted since the end of the game. Fingers pressed into his hips, and he bit down on his lip before he slid down. “ _Oh my god_ ,” Sena breathed the further down he sank, eyes rolling upwards.

Shin's hands grasped even tighter as the man breathed out, shocky and low, " _Sena, fuck._ "

The angle had Shin’s cock even deeper than it’d ever been, the tip pressed right against Sena’s prostate without much work. He was already shaking, dick leaking precum onto the poor ruined duvet, and his breath panting out of him. His hands braced on Shin’s thighs, shoulders trembling to hold him up. Sena couldn't move, on the verge of terrified he was going to cum at the slightest movement. 

“Sena, are you-” Shin forced out, leaning forward to get closer.

It pressed him even harder against his prostate and Sena's body went tightly strung as a bow. He cried out, hips jerking back into the motion of Shin’s body, tears at the corners of his eyes. Like the dam breaking, Sena rocked back, fast and hard, Shin’s low grunt coiling Sena’s stomach into knots. He didn't explode into a thousand pieces, so he did it again, mouth moving in gasps and senseless words,

“Yeah, yeah, I’m- _Sei, Sei_ , _please please_.”

He almost sobbed when the hard weight of Shin’s arm wrapped around his waist. He was jerked back against Shin's chest and he  _did_ sob at that, the new angle somehow even _better_. He tilted his head to the side and up, pressing his slack mouth against Shin’s jaw as his hand reached back and grasped at Shin’s hair, fingers tangling in the silky, long strands of it. He could feel Shin’s chest heaving at his back, hear each grunt and groan at his ear, and his thighs kept up the pace, Shin trapped under him even as Sena had him thrusting deeper and faster. His knees were starting to _hurt_ , and his thighs _burned_ , but he couldn’t stop yet. Not when every thrust down had fireworks going in his head and clear, tacky slick dripping down his cock. Not when Shin was all but moaning his name, barely even breathing, and his hand stroked over Sena’s chest, nail catching on a nipple and sending shockwaves down Sena’s spine.

“Sei, Sei, please, your mouth, please,” Sena whispered into Shin’s hair. Shin nodded silently, pressing his lips to Sena’s shoulder, mouthing up his skin to nip at Sena’s throat. Sena tilted his head to the side, fingers tightening in Shin’s hair even as his other hand braced against the headboard at his back for leverage.

"I've got you, Sena. I know..." Shin trailed off on a moan against Sena's neck, hips jerking up just barely in time with Sena's butt meeting his pelvis. His blunt teeth pressed down a second later, sucking hard enough for Sena to shout out loud. Sena's whole body shuddered and he slammed his hips down. White noise fuzzed out his brain and all there was were Shin’s teeth and Shin’s heartbeat at his back and Shin’s dick pressed in deep, no thin layer of latex muting the feeling of every ridge and curve of him. Sena blinked his eyes open, wheezing and bonelessly slumped against Shin’s chest. His belly and chest were splattered with cum, and he could feel a weird, warmth seeping out him. It was gross and sticky and damp.

But Sena grinned woozily as he nuzzled against the side of Shin’s head. Shin mumbled incoherently and rubbed his mouth on the crook of Sena’s shoulder and neck.

“Tha’s good, yeah?” Sena slurred. Shin nodded.

“Ruined.”

“Wha?” Sena blinked again and frowned awkwardly.

“My bed.”

Sena squinted, until it finally sank in. He burst out laughing helplessly, grimacing at the feel of more cum sliding down the back of his sweaty thighs.

“Okay, condoms are good. But this was good, too.”

“…” Shin propped his chin on Sena’s shoulder and huffed through his nose. “I don’t enjoy the mess, but we can… use them less,” he allowed gradually.

Sena grinned widely, nuzzling at Shin’s head again because moving any other part of him was _bad bad bad_. “That sounds like an _enthusiastic_  yes from you.”

Shin scoffed and finally met Sena’s eyes. “You’re cleaning.”

This time, Sena didn’t stop laughing for long minutes after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is entirely ketolic's fault. Blame her (thank her!!) But also, how the fuck do you end a PWP??! That was, like, the hardest part?
> 
> AHAHA, so there's a huge gap of time between this chapter and Trips II, like, almost an entire year. And while, no, they didn't abstain the whole damn time, they aren't the every week kind of deal, especially with anal. Just saying, it's not something I'd see Shin wanting to do very often. *cough*waittillyou'reabottomShinjustwait*cough* I only had this HUGE GAP because I wanted that game against the Takekura team. (and yes, I have every Rice Bowl and spring tournament final planned for Sena's four years... cuz I care. that much. About details you'll never see...)


	8. Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What in the world are you going to tell your parents?”
> 
> “… I have no idea.”
> 
> “You’re a terrible liar.”
> 
> “I said I have no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most sensitive areas? Who’s most clingy? Who tops during sex? 

Sena wasn’t the best at remembering things. Big things, like major holidays and birthdays, sure, yeah, his calendar on his phone helped out there. But those little anniversaries and keeping track of other people’s test dates and thesis deadlines? Not… not so much. One time, that first year of dating, he’d forgotten Valentine’s Day until he woke up that day and saw the date on his phone. There was one day, though, one day that was engraved into his head by some miracle. He was not ever going to forget that moment. (Okay, so he’d actually forgotten the _exact time_ of ‘the moment’, but that was just borderline obsessive anyway!) Sena was _definitely_ bound and determined to do something about it this year, though. Summer break was slip-sliding away and his heart was constricting at the thought that there was only one semester left.

One more semester left until Shin, and few others of his friend-acquaintance-circle, set off for America.

And then a whole year before they’d be together again. (There was no doubt they would be together again in Sena’s mind, but a year was a _long time_ to be apart.)

Sena had been wanting to try something, and putting it off, for the past two years. And after the win against Takekura just a few weeks ago, Sena had finally asked Shin to do it. And Shin had _agreed_.

His hands were shaking so hard Sena shoved them deep in his pockets to hide them. No- this wasn’t fear. It wasn’t even apprehension. It was _excitement_. He hadn’t been able to get it out of his head for months. Had replayed every step in his head, resolved to make it memorable. Not in a _bad_ way, either. In the best way friggin’ possible.

The gates of the Shin residence loomed up ahead of him at last and his breath caught in his throat. He wondered if his smile looked as goofy and wobbly as it felt, but he couldn’t bring himself to tone it down. The intercom buzzed as he pushed the button and Hoshino's familiar, brisk, professional tone echoed down the line.

“ _Kobayakawa-sama, you should have called and requested a car._ ”

Sena muffled his embarrassed chuckles behind his hand at the gentle admonishment, even though Hoshino could see him clearly from the video-feed. “It’s all right. You know I like the run. Are the Shins in?”

“ _Just young Seijuuro-sama._ ” The gate swung open as he answered. “ _They’ll be back in time for dinner. You will be staying, won’t you?_ ”

“Yeah, thanks, Hoshino-san. I’ll be up in a sec. And, um, you can really call me Sena…” he tried for the thousandth time.

“ _Of course, Kobayakawa-sama._ ”

Sena sighed and rolled his eyes before jogging through the gates that had just opened far enough to slip through. He kept his pace slow and steady. He didn’t want to get sweaty and out of breath before even getting to the front door. _Keep calm, you idiot. It’s not that big a deal_. He could almost _hear_ a very Hiruma-like voice cackling in his head. _Yeah, right it’s not a big deal. Don’t shit yourself. This is a very big fucking deal_.

Sena groaned and buried his face in his hands as he got to the front door. His inner monologue was _not_ helping. Also... he really needed to work on changing his inner monologue’s voice. Having Hiruma in his head was _still_ weird and terrifying.

The door swung open to reveal a kind-faced but not quite smiling Hoshino. Sena was immensely glad it wasn’t one of the Shin parents. And not because there was some lingering discomfort from the big fight months ago; no, they’d cleared that up rather well and Juuri had even gotten around to teasing him very subtly about his promise whenever Shin left the room. Seisuke was _not_ so subtle. Sena was relieved not to face the parents of his boyfriend he was psyching himself up to- Nope, it was awkward and weird in front of Hoshino, too.

Sena dredged up a shaky smile as he stepped inside. “Good afternoon, Hoshino-san.”

“It’s lovely to see you again. Seijuuro-sama is in his room. Should I bring up anything?”

“N-No! I mean, uh, don’t put yourself out,” Sena hurried to correct his desperate outburst. The look Hoshino gave him had Sena blushing head to toe. “We’ll just come down for dinner. Thanks, though!”

Hoshino bowed his head slightly and closed to the door. Sena took off running up the stairs the moment Hoshino turned his back towards… wherever. He probably shouldn’t have taken those stairs so quickly, but he just wanted to get to Shin. Seeing the bedroom door ajar, Sena took a deep, quiet breath and pushed his way in, tapping his knuckles on the door as he stepped in.

“Seijuuro?” he called out, frowning when Shin’s presence wasn’t immediately made apparent. Movement from the bed caught his eye and he turned to see Shin slumped over, staring down at his hands, and looking… flabbergasted. _Speechless_. Another closer look revealed the slender, brand-new cellphone almost hidden in Seijuuro’s big hands (Seijuuro’s third, and really, the second one had died for a good cause rather than because he was terrible with electronics). “Seijuuro, what’s wrong?” Sena asked, loudly and in concern.

Shin jerked and looked up, blinking a little dumbly. As if he hadn’t even heard Sena come in or say his name the first time. That wasn’t like Shin at all. Sena frowned even harder and, after closing the door, strode across the room to place his hands on Shin’s shoulders.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Shin said needlessly.

“Yeah, I got that. What’s going on? You look…uh…rattled? I dunno, I don’t think I’ve seen you like this before…” Sena realized, eyes narrowing and hands smoothing up and down Shin’s arms. “Are you okay?”

Shin shook his head and then nodded. _That_ did not clear up anything at all.

“Seijuuro, words. Please,” Sena sighed, fighting back a smile. Shin grunted, the sound amused, and inhaled sharply.

“I just got a call from my coach.”

Sena blinked, head tilted to the side. “About captain duties or something? I’m pretty sure you’re the best captain they’ve had.”

“No, not that. I…you know the NFL draft was in April.” Sena nodded, frowning again. All of them in the amefuto group knew about the draft. Hell, Unsui had hosted a party to _watch_ the draft and Shin had been there. It wasn’t like Shin to beat around the bush, though. So Sena just nodded and waited patiently. Shin began again, voice hesitant. “I got an offer.”

The floor dropped out from under Sena’s feet even as his heart soared.

“ _What?_ ” he gasped in amazement and _pride_.

Shin shrugged slightly. “Maybe. After the draft, the Patriots sent out scouts to other colleges. They got the last pick, so they’re trying to fill in some weaker spots in their line up after all the trades went through. They went international.”

“The- _The Patriots?_ The _New England Patriots_? The team that just won the _Super Bowl_?” Sena exclaimed, voice going squeaky and high as he slumped onto the bed next to a mutely nodding Shin. “Oh my god. Oh my _god_ , Seijuuro. The Patriots are pitching you an _offer_?”

“I don’t know exactly. My coach called to tell me about a meeting with him and the scout. Tomorrow.”

“But you have another semester of college left! They’re not gonna try and draft you before _this_ season, are they?” Sena asked incredulously. It wasn’t unheard of, but he knew how much Shin loved his college courses since switching out of Economics. He’d been looking forward to his semester of practicum work, even excited in his controlled-Shin-way when given his school assignment just a couple days ago.

“If they do, I’ll turn them down.” 

Sena gaped at Shin, who looked utterly serious. “Seijuuro, think about it. You could always finish you last semester after your retire if you want to-”

But Shin was shaking his head. “School is important, my diploma and everything I’ve learned, they’re important, just as much as football. I’ll finish my degree and then go to America. I already planned to join intramural teams while waiting for the next draft, or following around tryouts.”

“But the _Patriots_ , Seijuuro.”

“They won a Super Bowl. Not _every_ Super Bowl.”

Sena burst out laughing while scrubbing at his face. “This is just… this is nuts. I wasn’t… I’m so happy and proud of you. Even if you turn it down, you’re having a meeting with an _NFL_ scout before you graduate and- _I knew it_. I knew someone would see you play and want you. You’re the best damn player in the world.”

“You know I dislike hyperbole.”

“It’s _not_ ,” Sena retorted with a grin. Shin scoffed, but his mouth was soft at the edges. That special, tiny smile that Sena loved. His heart squeezed and he reached out to grip Shin’s hand, still holding the mobile loosely. “I was already so worried about losing you in January. A part of me wants you to turn them down just so I can keep you a few more months,” he confessed, shamefaced and gaze falling to their knees. Just barely touching.

Two and half years. They were supposed to have more. Just a few more months more. Shin leaving early would _gut_ him, Sena knew it. After all this time, the fact they could sit so close and touch so easily and talk so freely- all their hard work, and one of their biggest fights just a few months behind them- all of it was so _precious_ to Sena. He wanted Shin to go. He knew he’d be right behind him and they’d be on the gridiron together soon. But…

His fingers tightened convulsively around Shin’s hand and his forehead fell to Shin’s shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you. So much. _So much_ ,” Sena whispered thickly, eyes slipping shut. Hoping if he kept them closed he wouldn’t cry. He wasn’t that crybaby fifteen-year-old anymore (he was more like a crybaby twenty-year-old, but he wasn’t _as_ bad).

“I’m not gone yet. I don’t even know what the offer will be. I promise, I’ll use my words. You’ll know everything as soon as I do,” Shin murmured back. Sena laughed, a little choked and choppy, but real laughter. Sena rubbed his face against the ball of Shin’s shoulder and sat up straight. His eyes were a little red around the edges, and his stomach was still in knots, but he’d gotten control of himself.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I don’t wanna rain on your parade. This is _amazing_. I’m just… wow. Seijuuro. Of course you’d be drafted first of everyone,” Sena said, laughing and shaking his head.

“Banba mentioned scouts watching Saikyoudai for weeks.”

“Yeah, but _they_ didn’t win the spring tournament,” Sena said smugly. Shin huffed again and shook his head. Sena clapped his hands together briskly and Shin turned to face him, eyebrows rising in question. “I came here to celebrate and now we have _more_ to celebrate. So, no more worrying about whatever’s gonna happen or leaving or whatever. We’re gonna celebrate _today_ and get worried some other day.”

“I’m not worried,” Shin deadpanned. Sena punched his shoulder, grinning at Shin’s mouth quirking up again.

"You didn't ask why I wanted to celebrate today  _before_ you told me this awesome news."

Shin levelled Sena with a look. "You think I didn't realize it on my own?"

Sena tried not to pout like a  _child_ , but he did cross his arms over his chest and grimace. "Do you have to remember everything?"

Shin raised a hand and drew his finger just under Sena's eye, down the side of his cheek, to the point of his chin. His thumb touched Sena's bottom lip, and goosebumps were already snaking down Sena's skin. "I wouldn't forget the first day I told you I loved you."

"I guess not," Sena breathed out, eyes fluttering shut. It definitely was not fair how Shin always knew exactly what to say to turn his knees to rubber and his heart going into overdrive. He remembered the request he made of Shin and felt the blush crawl up his neck as Shin's gentle touch fell away. “Did you- um,” Sena trailed off as his fingers fidgeted in front of him. “Did you do the… the thing?”

Shin frowned slightly. “I did. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience.”

“If you don’t… Remember, if you really don’t want to try this, you can still say no. At any time, even after we start, you know that, right?” Sena reminded him, getting back to his feet and facing Shin. Shin leaned over to set his phone on the nightstand, expression a little dubious and puzzled.

“Of course I know that. I honestly don’t know why _you_ want to try it,” he told him, widening his legs and holding out his hands. A delighted little thrill ran down Sena’s spine, and he eagerly stepped in-between Shin’s knees and set his hands on Shin’s shoulders again. This time, Shin’s hands settled on his hips, warm and grounding.

“I know, but I wanna try. And if you don’t like it, we can just go straight to the… to the sex part. And if you don’t like _that_ , we can do what we know we like, or just stop altogether. Just keep up using those words,” Sena joked, raising a hand to cup Shin’s face, his thumb tracing the sharp lines of his cheek. Shin not-quite rolled his eyes and tugged Sena closer.

“We could use the colors again.”

Sena twisted his mouth to the side in thought, and then nodded. “Probably best. And easiest. Do you remember the safewords we came up with?”

Shin nodded once. “I don’t think we’ll be doing anything that requires safewording…”

“You never know. You’re not exactly… into the idea,” Sena pointed out. He leaned down and brushed his lips over Shin’s. “Thanks for saying yes for me.”

Shin surged up to close the tiny distance and press his mouth to Sena’s. Sena hummed happily and looped both arms around Shin’s neck. Shin’s hands stroked up and down his back even as his teeth nipped at Sena’s bottom lip. There had been those few months when Shin had gotten weirdly experimental with kissing (and then Sena had found that list), and some of those weird things became _pretty damn great_ things. Like when Shin kissed his bottom lip and then top lip, drew them into his mouth to suck lightly and nip just hard enough to send more shivers down Sena’s spine. How he traced Sena’s lip with his tongue light enough to tickle, and abruptly switched to dirty and earnest, mouth wide and only tongues touching, slick and lewd and twisting; revving Sena up to hot and flushed in seconds. He sank a hand into Shin’s silky hair and slanted his mouth over Shin’s, hard, tongue thrusting into Shin’s mouth eagerly and moaning softly at Shin’s hands slipping under his shirt. Warm, callused hands smoothed up his back and Shin tipped back slowly, scooting further onto the bed just a little as he did and bringing Sena down with him.

Sena braced one hand against the bed, knees braced on the edge and toes balancing him against the floor. Until Shin’s foot hooked around the back of one knee and pulled him down. Sena gasped roughly against Shin’s bruised, puffy mouth as his groin pressed down against Shin’s. He hadn’t even noticed the semi he sported until he was grinding into the crease of where Shin’s thigh met his pelvis. He dragged his mouth away, panting a little too fast against Shin’s throat, strung too tight with the knowledge they were really going _do this_.

He was going to top Shin. And a little bit more.

“Okay, wait, just… um, clothes,” Sena stuttered, shoving himself up and grabbing at the back of his shirt to tear it off. Shin blinked a little dazedly at the suddenness, but nodded and pulled his own shirt off.

Shirts successfully thrown aside, Sena went for his jeans, hands shaking and feeling flushed all over. Only Shin’s hands falling over his stopped him. He glanced up, pupils already blown, and Shin’s eyes intent and dark on his.

“I’m not going to change my mind. Take it slow.”

“First, you’re definitely allowed to change your mind. That’s what the colors are for,” Sena reiterated. “And second, scoot up more.”

Shin actually laughed under his breath while doing so, moving up to the pillows and bracing his feet flat on the bed with knees bent. Sena followed, mouth dry and tongue swiping over his bottom lip, to lean over him and stroke his hands down Shin’s chest and sides reverently. His Shin, Shin friggin’ Seijuuro, best linebacker in Kanto, in _Japan_ , the guy half the league called a _monster_ , was taking orders from Sena and letting him slowly unbutton and unzip and peel away the dark pants he wore. This would never get old. Nope. Never. Sena swallowed hard and shuffled closer, knees just under Shin’s butt and his jeans still on, if left unbuttoned and loose. His palms slid up Shin’s thighs, and then down, to slip his fingers under the edge of Shin’s boxerbriefs, hair crinkling under his palms and Shin’s breath picking up. Shin wasn’t quite hard yet, but Sena was used to that.

“Sei?” Sena murmured as his thumbs stroked the smooth and almost hairless area of inner thighs and feeling Shin’s legs shake. Maybe it was ticklish. Or maybe not, as Sena caught sight of his cock twitching beneath the black cotton underpants.

Shin’s exhale was rough and heavy, and his hand dragged through his hair, but he said very clearly, “Green.”

Taking the cue for what it was, Sena dipped down to pressed his lips to Shin’s throat. Drawing teeth over that sensitive place that always had Shin’s hand curling into a white-knuckled fist. As his hands pulled the boxerbriefs over Shin’s knees, stripping him completely bare even while Sena stayed half-clothed, Sena sucked hard at Shin’s neck, carefully pulling away before it could leave behind a mark, just to tease at the same place again. Shin’s hand not gripping the sheet was suddenly buried in Sena’s hair, tangling so tightly it almost hurt, the little pricks of-not-pain zinged down Sena’s body to pool hot and low in his belly while he moaned.

“P-Pillow…” Sena mumbled.

Shin snagged one and basically shoved it in Sena’s face. He sputtered and laughed, sitting back on his heels and hissing at the friction of his dick against his jeans. Shin tucked both hands behind his head, eyes half-lidded and lips smirking up at Sena.

“Just waiting on you.”

“You said _slow_ , that’s what I’m _doing_ ,” Sena replied, still laughing quietly and patting Shin’s hip. “Lift up.”

Something a little uncomfortable flittered over Shin’s face, but he lifted his hips high so Sena could set the pillow in place. Sena was much better at observing these days, he was proud to say, and when he braced himself over Shin again, his eyes searched over that carefully blank expression closely.

“Color?”

Shin’s eyes slipped closed, but when he opened them again that discomfort was gone. “Green. You can stop asking.”

“I like the reassurance,” Sena said, a little self-deprecating and a lot honest.

He placed a soft, quick, chaste kiss to Shin’s barely parted mouth to stop any other words Shin might have. Then, he pulled away to drag his mouth back down, grazing over the barely red spot on his neck and over collarbones Sena paused at to trace his tongue over lightly. Down the center of his chest to press a damp-mouthed kiss to the middle of his sternum, the steady but rapid heartbeat under his lips. And then _abs_ , abs for fucking days. Sena had been a working out and training for years, he was faster than Shin even, but he’d never get this muscle definition. Thank goodness Sena was more appreciative than jealous. He ran his hands over Shin’s hips, to grip at the sides of his ass, and brushed his mouth and tongue over the lines of Shin’s stomach down to the slight indent of his belly button. There he finally let his teeth bite and nibble, sucking hard and leaving behind a large, dark mark that'd last for days while Shin tensed and shuddered.

It was almost too fast for him. How many more times would he get this chance? To actually worship Shin’s body under him instead of the other way around? Smirking at each tense and flex of Shin’s muscles under his exploring hands and mouth? Finding places that had Shin breathing harder, louder, fingers twisting in sheets giving away what Shin didn’t in words. His cock lay over his hip, not quite soft and not hard. Which made it easy for Sena to press his tongue to, slicking the warm, flushed skin with his spit so he could slip his mouth over the length of him and suck. Shin actually made a noise at that, knees pressing into Sena’s shoulders as he groaned out loud, deep and rasping. His hand was back in Sena’s hair, just where Sena liked it, tugging again but not leading him anywhere. Letting Sena do as he wished, tongue curling up the length of him, flicking over the cut-tip, feeling him get harder in his mouth, pressing against tongue and teeth and making Sena work to keep sucking without scraping teeth in a _bad_ way. Hollowing his cheeks and fighting a gag reflex while Shin’s hips shifted up, not yet thrusting. Sena pulled off with an obscene pop and shuffled further down.

“This’ll be better on your stomach,” Sena suggested, hoarse and raspy.

Shin stared up the ceiling a long moment, panting slightly. Slowly, he pushing himself onto his elbow. “Are you sure… you want to-”

“Yes, Seijuuro, this is my idea. Turn over and let me rim you,” Sena finally blurted, irritated and impatient.

Shin stared and Sena stared back, a blush slowly suffusing his face until Shin covered his mouth with his hand and looked away, shoulders shaking.

“ _Sei_ …” Sena groaned, pressing his hot face to Shin’s knee.

“Just move back,” Shin managed, words shaking from suppressed amusement.  

Sena did his best to ignore it, instead using the moment to go for the lube and condom in Shin’s nightstand. When he crawled back, fervently cursing the invention of denim and zippers, but keeping his pants on to keep his dick to himself long enough to last through this, Shin was already stretched out on his stomach, arms crossed under his chin, eyes on Sena, and hips propped up on the pillow. Now blessing the inventor of denim about a million times over in his head, Sena settled between Shin’s legs, dropping the lube and condom to the side so he could run his hands up the back of Shin’s thighs to spread him a little wider. Shin’s shoulders, no, his whole back, tensed, and Sena decided the more Shin thought about it, the worse it’d go for them both.

Mindful of that time in the shower, Sena kept his hands going up, over the curve of Shin’s ass- Sena’s eyes caught and held there, throat clicking painfully-  and up the slope of his back. His hands worked out the tension in Shin’s shoulders, much more patient than his pulse and heart that pounded in his head like a percussion band with the microphones on high. Little by little, Shin was relaxing was under his heads, head turned to peer back at Sena’s face over his shoulder. Thumbs dug into the dip of his lower back, the tight knots there worked loose as Shin breathed out a low groan, hips shifting against the bed and pillow under him. Sena bit down on his lip, _hard_ , and painstakingly slowly gripped Shin’s butt in both hands, digging into the flesh there and gnawing at his lip at the noises being smothered by cotton. Sena slipped his thumbs down the middle and pulled Shin’s cheeks wide, baring his hole. A shudder worked its way down both of them, and Sena pressed his thumb over the small pucker, stroking lightly. The shudder turned into shaking, and, to Sena’s surprise, Shin’s hips actually moved _up_  into the light pressure of his thumb.

Complying to the wordless request, Sena rubbed a little harder, panting a little harsher at the sound Shin let out. A thin, shaking moan he’d never heard before.

“Se-Sena, just do it,” Shin hissed out brusquely, face hidden in the pillow he was clutching in both hands.

Sena’s heart thudded in his throat and his cock was about to tear through his pants he was so turned on, and he shuffled down, hesitating as his breath fanned over Shin’s ass.

“ _Sena_ ,” Shin growled, voice drawn tight.

Sena's tongue flicked out, licked from just under his balls over his hole. Shin froze under his hands, body humming like a plucked string, and Sena did it again, pressing the flat of his tongue over his hole a little firmer. He tasted like skin and a little like soap, and he smelled like sweat and that same musky scent his dick had. Sena dredged up all the tips he’d read online, and licked at him harder, a thumb pressing into the sensitive skin just under Shin’s ballsack. Shin’s hips pushed up at the feel of Sena’s tongue, his breaths ragged and broken. Even his hips were wriggling under Sena, distracting enough Sena had to grip tightly with one hand and force Shin’s pelvis down against the bed. Sena used his other hand, the thumb tracing up that smooth skin, to press into Shin’s hole, opening him enough to thrust his tongue.

And Shin _lost_ it. Sena jaw worked, tongue thrusting in and out, thumb pressing in with his tongue, and Shin was whining against the sheets. _Whining_. Moaning low and barely stopping, hips moving back, pressing into Sena’s face despite Sena’s grip on his waist. Sex with Shin was great. Always. But Shin had never made this much noise before. When Sena moved back, replacing mouth and thumb with a finger, Shin actually _cursed_. A string of non-Japanese curses until Sena pushed his finger, slicked only by way too much spit, deep enough to have Shin melting into the bed, his hands curled into the sheets like claws and hips high.

“Holy… _Sei_ ,” Sena sputtered, wiping at his mouth and chin with his wrist. “You really liked that?”

There was a long moment of Shin trying to catch his breath. Finally, with his face turned just enough to reveal his profile, “ _Yes_. Don’t stop now,” he forced out, brows drawn low and face flushed. He sounded _wrecked_. And Sena didn’t mean to, but his finger crooked inside Shin, pressing against his prostate, and Shin cried out, back bowing.

“ _Shit_ ,” Sena whispered, pressing the heel of his hand against his crotch. He fumbled for the specific lube he’d asked Shin to order (though Sena had insisted on paying). He pulled his hand free and Shin shivered hard, face hidden again. “Wait, uh- sit up a little. I… I like hearing you…” Sena asked, haltingly but unwavering. Shin nodded and got onto his knees, bracing both hands to the wall.

“Sena, hurry up,” he said the moment he got his hands up and looked back. He was panting, black hair sticking to his temples and forehead, pupils blown wide. Sena gulped and nodded quickly, dragging his jeans _off_ and throwing them viciously across the room. Something fell over, but fuck if Sena cared at this point.

His boyfriend, who hadn’t even liked the idea of Sena going down on him, was basically ordering Sena to go down on him. If he didn’t have Shin’s dark expectant gaze on him, Sena probably would’ve pinched himself to wake up at that point.

The lube was cool and sticky on his fingers, and he moved back between Shin’s knees, which spread even wider, his back arching as Sena ran his clean hand down the line of it. He pressed a finger to Shin’s hole, smearing lube around the pucker slowly and Shin grunted in annoyance.

“What are you _waiting_ for? Green, damn it,” Shin snapped.

Sena flinched, more in shock than anything else, blinking rapidly and thinning his lips to hold back a surprised bark of laughter. “I’m going, I’m going.”

Just because Shin was being _pushy_ , Sena pressed two fingers in, slowly but without stopping. Shin moaned, as if relieved and friggin’ _blissful_ , head falling down between his arms and hips moving back. Too fast. Sena barely managed to control the pace, his one hand on Shin’s waist, fingers inching further in as Shin shuddered and shook. Who knew Shin would be this _sensitive_? Sena bit his lip the moment he got knuckle deep, and began to push in and out, gradually at first, until Shin got used to it and began to move his whole body faster than Sena’s hand. He was panting out Sena’s name, head still hanging low, and hands flat to the wall to brace himself. Sena shuffled back and leaned down to lick around his fingers, scissoring to widen Shin even more, intoxicated by the sounds Shin made as his tongue joined his fingers thrusting into him. He felt two seconds from coming just on the sounds alone. He sucked at the edge of Shin’s hole, nipping slightly and tongue soothing as Shin shouted out loud, voice echoing, followed by a thudding, cracking sound.

Thinking he’d just misheard, Sena kept going. His third finger joined, and spit and lube had made a mess of his mouth and chin. He was pressed so close, with Shin thrustng back against his face, his nose was almost flat against Shin’s skin. His jaw _ached_ , and the lube wasn’t the worst taste ever, but it wasn’t the best, and it coated his tongue and lips like chapstick. All three fingers were so deep, he couldn’t push in anymore, and he curled them just right against the spot he’d found earlier as his hand left Shin’s waist to wrap around his dick. Precum slipped over his hand, and Shin shouted even louder a strangled mess of Sena's name.

The thudding and cracking sound was unmistakable this time.

Sena pulled his mouth away, concerned and glancing around.

“W-What- Don’t stop, Sena,” Shin gasped out. It sounded almost like a sob and his cock throbbed in Sena’s hand. Sena let go to wipe at his mouth again and Shin whimpered, ass moving back onto Sena’s hand.

“Wait, Sei, I think I heard- Oh my _god_ , Seijuuro, what did you do?” Sena gasped, eyes popping open wide.

Shin looked up, eyes hazy and not quite open enough. He found Sena’s eyes, blinked sluggishly, and followed his gaze to the wall.

A wall with a hole twice the size of Shin’s hand _around_ his hand.

“D-Did you- Sei, you _Trident-tackled the wall_ ,” Sena blurted incredulously.

Shin stared a little longer. “I did,” he agreed stoically.

“Wha- What do we do about it!” Sena exclaimed, hand waving. The motion jerked his body and he accidentally pushed in a little bit deeper. Shin moaned and slumped forward, forehead against the wall and hand pressing into the indent harder. “S-Sorry! I’ll-”

“It’s already done. Get the condom. We are _not_ fixing my wall _right now_ ,” Shin retorted quickly, hands leaving the wall to search over his bed for said-condom.

“Oh, right. You’re right. Sorry, lemme- I’m sorry,” Sena said warningly with a wince just before pulling his hand free. Shin stilled and shivered, discomfort flitting over his face. But Sena knew that kind of discomfort and hurriedly searched out the condom himself. He fumbled with greasy fingers and shaking hands, but got it torn open and rolled onto his erection- so hard now it actually hurt to touch, the foreskin rolled back and the head shiny with pre-cum, and wow this might not last long at all, unfortunately. “Sh-Should we stay like this?” Sena asked once the condom was completely on.

Shin frowned, eyes on his wall, then back to Sena. “I prefer looking at you, but… I don’t want to accidentally kiss you.”

Sena burst out laughing, the back of the hand that was only wet with Shin’s cum and sweat, covered his mouth as he blushed tomato-red. “Yeah, no, you’re right. Just… try not to tackle the wall again. Let’s not bust _through_ it.”

“It’s a thick wall,” Shin replied dryly.

“You’re a _strong_ tackler. Just… maybe keep your hands on the headboard?” Sena suggested, cautiously placing his hand on Shin’s hip. He watched Shin’s throat work before he turned away, and Sena saw the back of his head nodding.

“Got it,” came the low, hoarse reply. Making sure Shin’s hands _were_ on the headboard, Sena closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath as he knelt behind Shin again.

He could do this and do it right. No pressure. None at all.

Sena gripped the base of his dick and slowly pressing to the shiny, puffy hole in front of him. He barely even worked the tip into Shin before they were both groaning. Sena slumped over Shin’s back, his face pressed to sweaty, bare skin, and both his hands grasped Shin’s narrow hips so tightly he was probably going to leave bruises.

“Oh god, oh god, _oh god_ ,” Sena chanted under his breath, inch by torturous inch sinking into the tight heat of Shin’s body. “I love you, I love you, oh my god.”

“Sena, please, _please_ just move faster,” Shin growled, shoulders shaking and back heaving under Sena’s cheek. Sena whimpered, the idea of moving, of pulling out even a little, the _worst_ thing he’d ever heard.

But Shin said please. He shifted, forehead to Shin’s back, and pulled back, groaning at the feel of it. He thrust back before he even got halfway out and they shouted brokenly. From there, Sena's body took over, head blank and eyes focused on watching his hips slam against Shin's butt, the slight bounce of it driving Sena even faster. Sena wasn’t even sure if Shin was enjoying it anymore, as he thrust in hard and fast, fingernails digging crescents into Shin’s skin. But Shin’s body was moving back on his dick, the bed thumping on the floor at the motion of their bodies, Shin grunting and moaning at each thrust and drag of Sena’s dick in him.

“Sei, _shit_ Sei, I gotta, I-I can’t-” Sena stammered. A hand reached back and gripped Sena’s hip, pushing him in even harder and deeper and he cried out, teeth scraping over the back of Shin’s neck, grinding in deep and hips pressed flush against Shin’s ass.

“There, there, that’s it, Sena,” Shin choked out, grinding down into the cradle of Sena's pelvis.

Shin suddenly felt too tight, body shuddering and clamping down until Sena cried, soft and quiet, against his broad back, coming like a shinkansen hitting a wall at full speed. His eyes rolled back and he felt _boneless_. When his eyes blearily opened, both his arms were wrapped around Shin’s chest, his face was squashed to Shin’s back, and he was still coming, little jerks of his hips and whimpers he hadn’t even known he was making still falling from his mouth.

“I…I can- S-sorry-” Sena whispered hoarsely, hand slowly sliding down Shin’s stomach.

“D-Don’t. It’s- I’m fine. I’m _fine_ ,” he said it the way someone else would say _amen_.

Sena blinked and slowly, blissfully grinned. “So… green?”

“Sena.”

He laughed against Shin’s skin, pressing a small, sticky kiss at the wry and weary humor in the single utterance of his name. With a small shiver and groan, he pulled away. Shin collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Sena fell to the bed next to him and reached over to pet his back like a cat absently. It could feel how badly he needed to get rid of the condom- _gross, how did Shin stand it?_ \- and he really wanted to kiss Shin, but knew he couldn't yet. Unacceptable. 

“Imma go clean up a bit, especially my mouth,” Sena wrinkled his nose and tried not to think too hard about it. “You want me to go get anything after I’m done?”

Shin shook his head and buried it deeper in the pillows.

 

Sena came back a while later to see Shin still naked, but flipped onto his back, eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Frowning, Sena sank onto the bed next to him, distantly noting the changed sheets.

“Seijuuro?” he questioned uncertainly. He yelped as Shin’s hand whipped out to snatch his wrist and yank him down. He was sprawled over the bed and Shin’s chest within one blink and the next. “ _Hiiiii_ , Sei! What’s that about?”

Shin tucked his face into the crook of Sena’s neck and curled around him, turning them onto their sides, both arms wrapped too tightly around Sena’s waist. Sena’s arm rose, hesitated, then wrapped around Shin’s back and placed a hand to back of Shin’s head. His other arm, pinned under Shin’s heavy torso, managed to wriggled free and wrap around his shoulders.

“Hey, Seijuuro, now I’m worried. You definitely said green, right? Did I mess up? Are you in pain now? I thought we did all right,” Sena asked rapid-fire and growing tense, a few moments from earlier blasting through his head and coming up as evidence of maybe him going too fast or being too rough for Shin’s first time taking it.

“I don’t want to go.”

Sena frowned, even more bewildered, but his embrace getting tighter and stronger at the quiet, muffled words. “Go?”

“To America.”

Sena blinked rapidly. “I thought you said you weren’t sure what the offer was? Plus, putting your foot down about college makes total sense, they’d probably have that in mind and-”

“No, Sena.” This time his voice was rougher and brusque, a bit more like his usual tone, and Sena leaned back to meet Shin’s scowl. Dark brown eyes glanced over Sena’s face, the look intense and somehow wistful. “I don’t want to _go_. I know this is a great opportunity for a Japanese player, but my first thought was… you.”

Sena’s eyes burned they grew so wide. “This is your dream. _Our_ dream. It’s everything we’ve been working for!”

Shin scowled harder, expression dark and angry, but not at Sena. More inward than that.

“I _know_ that. It didn’t stop the thought from happening,” he retorted shortly. He looked _torn_ and unsure and his arms around Sena were almost squeezing the life out of him.

Sena’s mind whirred into high-gear. How to help? What in the world could he do- _say_  to Shin going through some sort of _crisis_. Shin didn’t do crises. The closest he got was his mother being disappointed in him, and he’d dealt with that fiasco like a sledgehammer. Shin didn’t do subtle and he didn’t do grey blurry areas of doubt.

Until right now.

Because even though he was about to be pitched the deal of a lifetime, he had _doubts_ about taking it. Doubts that had to do with emotions rather than logic.

Sena firmed his jaw, eyes sharpening with a quiet kind of fierceness, and he tucked Shin against him again, lips pressed to his forehead. “Hey, whatever you choose, I’ll with you. This is your _future_.”

“Ours.”

Sena twitched, heat rising to his face as his eyes squeezed shut. “Y-Yeah,” he squeaked, “Our future. But I’ll follow you, you know. Maybe not as a _Patriot_ , you over-achiever,” he grinned at the soft chuckle against his collar, “but I’ll be there. I can’t imagine a life where I’m not chasing you, and you’re not chasing me.”

Shin nodded silently. His hair tickled Sena’s face and mouth, and he couldn’t help the loud exhale when Shin’s arms loosened their iron hold around his ribs.

“We should’ve tried this earlier.”

 _What_? Sena thought dumbly. It took much too long to re-route his brain to Shin’s new topic and his whole body flushed red.

“Y-yeah. That was… that was amazing. Not that it isn’t usually! But… you’ve never busted a wall before,” Sena pointed out, dissolving into laughter at Shin’s embarrassed grumble. “What in the world are you going to tell your parents?”

“… I have no idea.”

“You’re a _terrible_ liar.”

“I _said_ I have no idea.”

Sena laughed so hard he cried, especially when Shin knocked him onto his back and blew wet, messy raspberries over his neck and down his stomach. They thudded off the side of the bed, Sena flailing and screeching with laughter and Shin digging his fingers in every ticklish spot Sena had. It was a little dangerous being _buck naked_ and rough housing, but Shin’s eyes were glittering with humor and the wistful, pained intensity was gone.

Sena wasn’t going to stop goofing around until he was sure Shin huff-laughed every trace of that worry away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second cellphone, the one that died ‘for a good cause’ will come up again. There was another reference to another as yet unwritten (unfinished) chapter. Yeah for not caring about chronology! The talk about the future and the meeting is NOT over! "Futures" is a planned chapter and will show what happens with that, and what happens during Sena's turn. It just sorta struck me that it'd make a great plotpoint and I went with it!
> 
> Also, in my WIL hcs, they only use the colors when one of them is unsure how they'll like what they're doing, or if they feel like there might be unsafe consequences. (This will be laid out in the same chapter the second phone loses its life, actually. And technically, it wasn't THEIR idea, either. ohonhonhon)
> 
> So... can you answer who's the most clingy? Cuz, honestly, I can't tell. LOL (and yes, Shin's most sensitive area is his butt. whoddathunkit)


End file.
